Sancy Leachman, MD, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Dermatology, director, Melanoma Research Program, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, discusses patients who are at high risk for developing melanoma. 

Leachman says high risk is defined differently across specialties. Dermatologists consider people at high risk if they have physical features that would predispose them to the disease, such as red hair, blue eyes, fair skin, freckles, and moles. Surgical and medical oncologists consider someone who has had a positive sentinel lymph node biopsy for melanoma to be at high risk for recurrence.

Leachman adds that people with a strong family history are at a particularly high risk. Those who inherit a mutation in a high-penetrance susceptibility gene, such as the CDKN2A gene, have an estimated 75% chance of developing melanoma in their lifetime. 

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Sancy Leachman on Patients at High Risk for Melanoma

Sancy Leachman, MD, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Dermatology, director, Melanoma Research Program, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, discusses how a mobile app can help oncology professionals monitor patients for melanoma.Â 

Patients who had one incidence of melanoma are approximately eight times more likely to develop the disease again, Leachman says, and these patientsÂ require close monitoring throughout their lifetimes.Â 

Oregon Health & Science University created an app, Mole Mapper, which allows patients to measure and monitor their moles for melanoma.Â Leachman says patients can use the app and share the information with their oncologists to determine if further testing or treatment is needed.Â 

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Sancy Leachman, MD, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Dermatology, director, Melanoma Research Program, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, discusses how a mobile app can help oncology professionals monitor patients for melanoma. 

Sancy Leachman on Monitoring for Melanoma Recurrences

Sancy Leachman, MD, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Dermatology, director, Melanoma Research Program, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, discusses the mobile app Mole Mapper, which allows patients to measure and monitor their moles for melanoma.

Users of the app measure their moles compared to a reference control in order to accurately determine whether it is growing. The app gives a monthly reminder to remeasure the moles. 

The app is also providing data for a research project, which is collecting photos of usersâ€™ moles and scars. Leachman says that she hopes the scientific community can use this data to develop an algorithm that would be able to predict which moles will eventually need to be removed. 

Sancy Leachman, MD, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Dermatology, director, Melanoma Research Program, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, discusses the mobile app Mole Mapper, which allows patients to measure and monitor their moles for melanoma.


Sancy Leachman, MD, PhD

Articles

Sancy Leachman on Patients at High Risk for Melanoma

Sancy Leachman on Monitoring for Melanoma Recurrences

Sancy Leachman on the Mole Mapping App