Oncology & Cancer

PBAF chromatin may explain melanoma spread to the brain

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a possible reason why some cases of melanoma—a dangerous form of skin cancer—spread to the brain. Their study, published in Molecular Cell, highlights ...

Oncology & Cancer

Blocking an enzyme may improve melanoma immunotherapy outcomes

About 65% of melanoma patients do not respond to immunotherapy. New work by the team of Prof. Max Mazzone (VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology) discovered that an enzyme called HPGDS (expressed in a specific subset of ...

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Melanoma i/ˌmɛləˈnoʊmə/ (from Greek μέλας - melas, "dark") is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin. They predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body, including the bowel and the eye (see uveal melanoma). Melanoma can occur in any part of the body that contains melanocytes.

Melanoma is less common than other skin cancers. However, it is much more dangerous and causes the majority (75%) of deaths related to skin cancer. Worldwide, doctors diagnose about 160,000 new cases of melanoma yearly. The diagnosis is more frequent in women than in men and is particularly common among Caucasians living in sunny climates, with high rates of incidence in Australia, New Zealand, North America, Latin America, and northern Europe. According to a WHO report, about 48,000 melanoma related deaths occur worldwide per year.

The treatment includes surgical removal of the tumor, adjuvant treatment, chemo- and immunotherapy, or radiation therapy. The chance of a cure is greatest when the tumor is discovered while it is still small and thin, and can be entirely removed surgically.

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