Clinical Trial: Natural History Study of Moles and Suspicious Melanoma
Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Completed
Study Type: Observational
Official Title: Dermoscopic Diagnosis, Histopathological Correlation, and Cellular Immortalization of Melanocytic Nevi and Primary Cutaneous Melanoma
Brief Summary:
Background:
- Melanocytic nevi, or "moles," are non-cancerous growths of a type of skin cell called a melanocyte.
- Large congenital melanocytic nevi (LCMN) are a special type of mole that begins to grow before birth and is larger than moles that develop after birth.
- Determining how melanocytes in moles and LCMNs differ from normal melanocytes may increase the ability to predict whether a mole will give rise to a melanoma (a type of skin cancer)
Objectives:
- To understand how melanomas develop, by studying moles, LCMNs, and pigmented skin lesions that are suspicious for melanoma
- To develop better criteria for diagnosing melanoma, particularly by using a device called a digital dermatoscope (a special camera, connected to a computer, that takes pictures of moles when they are magnified and illuminated)
Eligibility:
- Children 5 years old or older with an LCMN
- Adults 18 years old or older with 100 or more moles larger than 2 mm in diameter and at least one 4 mm or more
- Adults 18 years old or older with a pigmented lesion suspicious for melanoma
Design:
- Patients' personal and family health history is obtained.
- Patients are examined by investigative team doctors, and several lesions are examined with a dermatoscope.
