Lorraine L. Rosamilia, MD

Dr. Rosamilia is from the Department of Dermatology, Geisinger Health System, State College, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Rosamilia reports no conflicts of interest in relation to this post.

Cancer recently reported dermatologically germane data from the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study in which a large cohort of postmenopausal white women aged 50 to 79 years were followed by health questionnaire and clinic visits at 40 national sites over 12 years, highlighting risk factors and associations with heart disease, cancer, and fractures. In a subset of nearly 60,000 women in the study, 548 incident melanomas were confirmed, and data regarding skin type, sun exposure, skin cancer history, and medication use were analyzed.

Lorraine L. Rosamilia, MD

Dr. Rosamilia is from the Department of Dermatology, Geisinger Health System, State College, Pennsylvania.

Dr. Rosamilia reports no conflicts of interest in relation to this post.

JAMA Dermatology recently published a case-control study from the University of Pittsburgh wherein 4 smartphone applications (apps) designed to aid consumers in determining if a skin lesion is benign or malignant were put to the test. Digital images taken by dermatologists of 60 melanomas and 128 benign control lesions (prior to skin biopsy and dermatopathologist-determined diagnosis) were uploaded into these consumer apps, and there was a very broad range of diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.

Philip R. Cohen, MD

Dr. Cohen is from the University of Houston Health Center, Texas; the Department of Dermatology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston; and the Department of Dermatology, University of Texas Medical School, Houston.

Dr. Cohen reports no conflicts of interest in relation to this post.

The June 2012 issue of Annals of Oncology (2012;23[suppl 5]:v6-v11) featured an abstract (L6.5) from the 4th WIN (Worldwide Innovative Networking in personalized cancer medicine) symposium on the efficacy of biomarkers and personalized cancer therapy that took place in Paris, France, on June 28 and 29, 2012. The authors provided an update on using personalized medicine for the treatment of a large cohort of oncology patients with advanced cancer. Complete molecular profiling of the patient’s tumor was performed and the patient was treated with matched therapy, when available, directed against the detected molecular aberration. The results were measured as a function of time to treatment failure and supported the use of a personalized molecular approach for patients with cancer.

Kavita Mariwalla, MD

Dr. Mariwalla is the Director of Dermatologic Surgery, Continuum Cancer Centers of New York, New York.

Dr. Mariwalla reports no conflicts of interest in relation to this post.

On July 9, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) released recommendations for the use of the sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy in patients with melanoma (Journal of Clinical Oncology). The SLN typically is the first draining lymph node to which melanoma cells are most likely to spread, and a positive node certainly has implications for staging. However, sending a patient to have this node mapped has been very inconsistent among practitioners. It also comes at a risk: an additional procedure in the operating room and the chance of possible lymphedema in the area where the node was harvested.