Study outlines key features linked to amelanotic melanoma

Source: News Medical Life Science, August 2017

New findings from an international research team led by University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center scientists may improve detection of skin cancer that lacks any brown or black color.

The researchers published a study in the journal JAMA Dermatology that outlines key features linked to amelanotic melanoma, a form of skin cancer that lacks the brown or black color that stems from the pigment melanin. Researchers believe their findings could improve detection of this type of melanoma, which is more likely to be diagnosed at advanced stages.

“Amelanotic melanoma is linked to worse survival because it’s more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage," said the study’s senior author Nancy E. Thomas, MD, PhD, a UNC Lineberger member, the Irene & Robert Alan Briggaman Distinguished Professor and chair in the UNC School of Medicine Department of Dermatology. “We have identified phenotypic traits that will trigger doctors and patients to pay attention not just to pigmented lesions, but also to these pink spots."