BACKGROUND/AIM Increased expression and prognostic significance of major redox regulator nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor (Nrf2) is recognized in many cancers. Our aim was to investigate the role of oxidative stress markers in melanoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS We characterized the immunohistochemical expression of Nrf2, kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1), BRAF(V600E), 8-hydrox...

Malignant melanomas of the mucosal regions of the head and neck are extremely rare neoplasms accounting for less than 1% of all melanomas. Approximately half of all head and neck melanomas occur in the oral cavity. Less than 2% of all melanomas lack pigmentation, in the oral mucosa however, up to 75% of cases are amelanotic. No etiologic factors or risk factors have been recognized for oral mel...

INTRODUCTION Primary dermal melanoma (PDM) is a recently described clinical entity accounting for less than 1% of all melanomas. Histologically, it is located in the dermis or subcutaneous tissue, and it shows no connections with the overlying epidermis. The differential diagnosis is principally made along with that of metastatic cutaneous melanoma. CASE REPORT A 72-year-old Caucasian woman w...

The rapid advances in the molecular biology and genetics have improved the understanding of molecular pathogenesis of v-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B (BRAF), feline sarcoma viral oncogene v-kit (KIT), and neuroblastoma v-Ras oncogene homolog (NRAS) mutant melanomas with the subsequent development of targeted therapeutic agents. However, only limited data are available for melanoma...

Background: The aim of sentinel node biopsy (SNB) is to identify subclinical lymph node metastases using a procedure with minimal morbidity, establish more accurate staging in patients with melanoma, determine prognosis, and choose the most suitable treatment in each patient. Objectives: To analyze the outcomes of SNB in patients with cutaneous melanoma, and the impact of this procedure on surv...

BACKGROUND The aim of sentinel node biopsy (SNB) is to identify subclinical lymph node metastases using a procedure with minimal morbidity, establish more accurate staging in patients with melanoma, determine prognosis, and chose the most suitable treatment in each patient. OBJECTIVES To analyze the outcomes of SNB in patients with cutaneous melanoma, and the impact of this procedure on survi...

Metastatic cancersmake up fewer than 2% of pancreaticmalignancies, and themajority of them mimic a primary adenocarcinoma [1]. Limited data are available concerning the assessment of pancreatic secondary cancers using endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsy (EUSFNB) [2]. In this study we report the first case of metastatic pancreatic melanoma to be diagnosed by combining EUS with biopsy...

The aim of this study was to determine lymphatic vessel density (LVD) in a series of nodular melanoma and correlate the findings with the expression of several angiogenic factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor-C, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), patient survival, and clinico-pathologic data. Patients with nodular melanoma and complete follow-up information were included. Ly...

Inhibitors of RAF inhibit the MAPK pathway that plays an important role in the development and progression of those melanoma carrying the V600E BRAF mutation, but there's a subset of such patients who do not respond to the therapy. Various mechanisms of drug resistance have been proposed which include the clonal heterogeneity of the tumor. We have studied a population of nodular melanoma to inv...

The aim of the present population-based descriptive study was to evaluate the incidence and mortality trends for melanoma to gain insights on the effectiveness of opportunistic secondary prevention strategies. Data on all invasive cutaneous melanoma cases occurring between 1996 and 2011 were retrieved from the Ticino Cancer Registry, southern Switzerland. The European age-standardized incidence...