Melanoma

Background of Melanoma

Melanoma is a cancer of cells called melanocytes, which are the cells that produce skin color or pigment. Most skin cancers arise in the flat, scale-like cells called squamous cells, or the round cells under squamous cells called basal cells. Squamous or basal cell cancers, or carcinomas, are highly treatable by dermatologists.

Melanocytes are found primarily in the skin, but also may be found in the eye, digestive tract and lymph nodes. Malignant melanoma of the skin is the most deadly of the three types of skin cancer and usually begins with a mole.

In some parts of the world, especially among Western countries, the number of people who develop melanoma is increasing faster than that of any other cancer. In the United States, for example, the number of new cases of melanoma has more than doubled in the past 20 years.

Although melanoma accounts for only 3 percent of all skin cancers, it causes most of all skin-cancer deaths. At this time, the causes of melanoma are not fully understood. It is clear, however, that this disease is not contagious. The number of cases in the U.S. is increasing. In 2007, the American Cancer Society estimates that 59,940 new cases will be diagnosed, and more than 8,000 people will die of the disease.

Researchers have found certain risk factors that are more common in people who develop melanoma than in people who do not get this disease. It is important to know, however, that most people with these risk factors do not get melanoma, and many who do get this disease have none of these risk factors.

The following are some of the factors associated with this disease:

Hutchinson Center Melanoma Research

Overview of Hutchinson Center Melanoma Skin Cancer Research

Hutchinson Center researchers and their colleagues at the University of Washington are developing novel treatments for malignant melanoma, many of which are available to patients through clinical trials at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA). Clinical trials at the SCCA are offered for patients who have completed surgery (post-surgery treatment is called "adjuvant" treatment) and are either at risk for a recurrence of melanoma or whose melanoma has metastasized (spread). These treatment protocols involve new diagnostic tests and therapies. Examples include:

• Adoptive T-cell therapy: One of the new approaches to treating melanoma, adoptive T-cell therapy was developed by researchers at the Hutchinson Center in collaboration with the University of Washington and Targeted Genetics, a Seattle biotechnology company. This therapy uses naturally occurring immune-system cells called T-cells to target and kill tumors. During the procedure, researchers extract and select the patient's T-cells that target the cancerous melanocytes, expand them to large quantities and then infuse them back into the patient. The objective is for the millions of added T-cells to specifically target and destroy the cancer cells. Unlike conventional chemotherapy, which causes side effects resulting from damage to healthy cells, T-cell therapy is highly specific for cancer cells and results in minimal side effects. A small preliminary trial of this therapy halted progression of the disease in 80 percent of patients with advanced melanoma and caused side effects no more severe than minor aches or fever.



• Position emission tomography: PET scans produce pictures of the body's biological functions using nuclear medicine. A PET scan can monitor a patient's response to chemotherapy treatment and detect certain diseases earlier than other procedures can.
• Vaccines: These studies investigate a vaccine's ability to stimulate the immune system to attack melanoma cells.



• Gene therapy: Studies are underway to modify the genetics of tumors to make them more susceptible to attacks by cancer-fighting drugs.



• Chemotherapy. Treatment with new drugs — such as Sorafnib — is being explored. In addition, chemotherapy in combination with immune-system stimulators, such as interferon and interleukin-2, is also being explored. Patients receiving chemotherapy often develop a weakened immune system, which affects their ability to produce disease-fighting white-blood cells. Interferon is a protein that human cells produce when a virus or cancer invades them. Once in the bloodstream, interferon encourages the body's white cells to manufacture an enzyme that fights the disease. This boost to a cancer patient's immune system can have a direct effect against melanoma. Interleukin-2 helps stimulate the immune system, but doesn't directly attack melanoma cells. However, it can assist Interferon by revving up the immune system to better attack these cells.

Articles Related to Melanoma Cancer and Melanoma Information

• Cancer protection from within
  
  
• Evasive action revealed
  
  
• New hope for treatment of melanoma — Immune-system cells may be able to destroy tumors, says study by Cassian Yee
  
  

Search for More Publications Related to Melanoma Cancer »