Recent findings indicate there may be a link between Parkinson’s disease and melanoma, with family history and common genetic susceptibility as possible causes. The review is published in the journal Dermatologic Surgery and is titled “A Review of the Association Between Parkinson Disease and Malignant Melanoma.”
Scientific Publications
Melanoma Visualized in Live Zebrafish From Origin of First Cancer Cell To Metastasis
Researchers visualized the origins of cancer from the first affected cell through its spread in a live animal: the zebrafish. This research, published in Science, may change scientific understanding of melanoma and other cancers leading to new treatments that can be administered early, before the cancer has taken hold.
Melanoma-Specific Survival Significantly Higher With Wider Excision Margins
Among patients with high-risk, primary cutaneous melanomas, the risk of death from melanoma at a median follow-up of 8.8 years was significantly higher among those randomized to surgery with a 1-cm excision margin than among those randomized to surgery with a 3-cm excision margin. Although overall mortality was also higher in patients with a 1-cm excision margin, that difference was not statistically significant.
Many Stage 3 Melanoma Patients Won’t Benefit from High-dose Interferon Therapy
Final results of the Sunbelt Melanoma Trial indicate that most patients with stage III melanoma do not benefit from high-dose interferon treatment, largely because improved diagnostic techniques are now capable of detecting small amounts of lymph node activity in many melanomas — amounts too small to be considered high risk.