Related topics: skin cancer · cancer · cancer cells · cells · tumor cells

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Nanodiamonds are 2–8 nm carbon nanoparticles, which can be easily functionalized with various chemical groups like carboxylic groups or drugs. Previous research has shown that actively dividing cells are more likely to ...

Combination therapy shown to be effective against canine melanoma

Melanomas are the most common oral cancers in dogs. They are highly metastatic and conventional chemotherapy does not increase survival time. Canine oral melanomas are similar to human melanomas; thus, research is being conducted ...

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How a protein breaks free to cause deadly cancers

Better treatments for some of cancer's deadliest forms could be closer due to a University of California, Irvine-led discovery about how a certain protein is activated in tumor cells. The finding, spearheaded by researchers ...

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Melanoma

Melanoma (pronounced /ˌmɛləˈnoʊmə/ ( listen)) is a malignant tumor of melanocytes which are found predominantly in skin but also in the bowel and the eye (see uveal melanoma). It is one of the less common types of skin cancer but causes the majority of skin cancer related deaths. Malignant melanoma is a serious type of skin cancer. It is due to uncontrolled growth of pigment cells, called melanocytes. Despite many years of intensive laboratory and clinical research, the sole effective cure is surgical resection of the primary tumor before it achieves a Breslow thickness greater than 1 mm.

Around 160,000 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed nationally each year, and it is more frequent in males and Caucasians. It is more common in Caucasian populations living in sunny climates than in other groups. According to a WHO report about 48,000 melanoma related deaths occur worldwide per year.

Malignant melanoma accounts for 75 percent of all deaths associated with skin cancer.

The treatment includes surgical removal of the tumor, adjuvant treatment, chemo- and immunotherapy, or radiation therapy.

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