• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.2751-2755
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• 2016

Background: Melanoma, the most life-threatening type of skin cancer, is a malignant tumor initiating in melanocytes that rapidly metastasizes and causes death. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, samples were selected from patients' information files in our Cancer Institute in Tehran with a designed checklist. A total of 322 files were found from 2003 until 2012. Then the raw data were transferred to Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 16 and additional analysis was performed by Students t-test. The important variables were considered according to the available information from history of pathology including age, gender, occupation, stage and location of tumor. Results: Our data showed that incidence of melanoma has been different in the studied 10-year period according to age. Also, incidence of melanoma was higher in men than women. It was more common in lower limbs. More commonly housewives among women and farmers among men were affected by melanoma. Conclusions: Taken together the descriptive data clarified general aspects of this disease for further screening and interventions.

• Oncology Letters
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.1837-1850
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• 2019

Kenalog is a synthetic glucocorticoid drug used to treat various cancers including ocular and choroidal melanoma. However, the drug achieves rarely sustainable results for patients. To overcome this difficulty, the structure of Kenalog was altered by ionizing radiation (IR) to develop a more effective anticancer agent for treatment of various skin cancers. The anticancer effect of modified Kenalog (Kenalog-IR) was assessed in melanoma cancer cells in vitro. The assessment of mitochondrial functions by MTT assay revealed significant inhibition of melanoma cancer cell viability by Kenalog-IR compared to Kenalog. Moreover, Kenalog-IR-induced apoptotic cell death was associated with the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway by triggering the release of intrinsic apoptosis molecules through activation of caspase-related molecules in concentration and time-dependent manners. Furthermore, it was observed that Kenalog-IR-induced apoptosis was associated with the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with increased G2/M cell cycle arrest. Collectively, Kenalog-IR may be a potential suppressor of skin-related cancer in particular melanoma cancer.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.60-71
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• 2023

Background: The purpose of this research was to assess the role of heparanase (HPSE)/syndecan1 (SDC1)/nerve growth factor (NGF) on cancer pain from melanoma. Methods: The influence of HPSE on the biological function of melanoma cells and cancer pain in a mouse model was evaluated. Immunohistochemical staining was used to analyze HPSE and SDC1. HPSE, NGF, and SDC1 were detected using western blot. Inflammatory factors were detected using ELISA assay. Results: HPSE promoted melanoma cell viability, proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumor growth, as well as cancer pain, while SST0001 treatment reversed the promoting effect of HPSE. HPSE up-regulated NGF, and NGF feedback promoted HPSE. High expression of NGF reversed the inhibitory effect of HPSE down-regulation on melanoma cell phenotype deterioration, including cell viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion. SST0001 down-regulated SDC1 expression. SDC1 reversed the inhibitory effect of SST0001 on cancer pain. Conclusions: The results showed that HPSE promoted melanoma development and cancer pain by interacting with NGF/SDC1. It provides new insights to better understand the role of HPSE in melanoma and also provides a new direction for cancer pain treatment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.12
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• pp.1997-2006
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• 2015

Ginsenoside Rg3 is a bioactive ginseng constituent that has been reported to have diverse pathological and physiological effects, including anti-inflammatory and anti-metastatic activities. Metastasis is one of the most important factors involved in patients with melanoma. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the anti-metastatic activities of Rg3 in malignant melanoma cancer has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we have evaluated that Rg3 effectively inhibits metastasis of B16F10 melanoma cancer cells. We found that Rg3 significantly suppresses the migration, invasion, wound healing, and colony-forming abilities of B16F10 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that Rg3 suppresses B16F10 cell metastasis by inhibiting MMP-13 expression. These results indicate that Rg3 suppresses the metastasis of B16F10 mouse melanoma cancer cells via MMP-13 regulation. Importantly, MMP-13 downregulation may influence the migration and invasion capabilities of melanoma cells and has been correlated with melanoma progression. Therefore, Rg3 is a potential therapeutic candidate that could be used to treat patients with metastatic melanoma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.9
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• pp.3873-3877
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• 2014

Melanoma of the skin is a malignant tumor, which incidence is still increasing. It was estimated that in the United States one person died from this cause every hour. The major risk factor of this disease is exposure to ultraviolet radiation, especially associated with the occurrence of sunburns. Patients diagnosed with distant metastases have median survival of 6-9 months. The aim of this paper was to identify the causes of delayed diagnosis of melanoma as diagnosis at an early stage seems to be the key to improve the survival rates. For this purpose, a search of medical databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar and Cancer Registers was conducted and an analysis of the literature from the years 1979-2013 was conducted.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.3051-3056
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• 2015

Background: Skin self-examination (SSE) may facilitate early diagnosis of melanoma at a potentially curable stage. Little data are available concerning the SSE frequency and knowledge about the symptoms of melanoma in non-patient populations. The aim of our study was to assess the performance of skin self-examination, recognition of potential melanoma symptoms as well as behavior related to sun exposure among web users in Poland. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among readers of a scientific portal. Invited respondents were asked to complete an online questionnaire. Finally, statistical analysis was conducted on 4,919 surveys towards potential clinical signs of melanoma and SSE performance. Results: Approximately 60% of respondents had ever performed SSE in their life. Only 18.4 % declared performance on a regular, monthly, basis. Factors promoting this activity were established to be bigger place of residence, higher education and sensitive skin phototype, higher level of knowledge concerning melanoma, safe tanning rules and, especially, past surgical excision of naevi. Declared longer use of tanning beds was linked to understanding better the importance of clinical features of melanoma. Awareness of hazardous behavior during sunbathing is associated with the attempts to change them. Conclusions: Regular SSE is not a common practice, whilst the knowledge about the clinical features of melanoma is varied. Therefore, constant pressure should be put on promotion of regular skin self-examination and teaching its proper techniques, including familiarity with the ABCD (asymmetry; border; color; diameter) rule and its extension of "EFG" (elevated, firm, progressive growth) criteria.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.1203-1211
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• 2022

Melanoma is a skin cancer that starts in pigment-producing cells (melanocytes). The death rates of skin cancer like melanoma can be reduced by early detection and diagnosis of diseases. It is common for doctors to spend a lot of time trying to distinguish between skin lesions and healthy cells because of their striking similarities. The detection of melanoma lesions can be made easier for doctors with the help of an automated classification system that uses deep learning. This study presents a new approach for melanoma classification based on an ensemble of deep convolution neural networks and a Log-Gabor filter. First, we create the Log-Gabor representation of the original image. Then, we input the Log-Gabor representation into a new ensemble of deep convolution neural networks. We evaluated the proposed method on the melanoma dataset collected at Yonsei University and Dongsan Clinic. Based on our numerical results, the proposed framework achieves more accuracy than other approaches.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.66-72
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• 2018

Objectives: Desmoplastic melanoma of the oral cavity is an extremely rare condition that is often confused on initial diagnosis with non-melanotic benign lesion or spindle cell tumors. The purpose of this article was to raise awareness of the disease using a literature review. Materials and Methods: We analyzed 19 desmoplastic melanoma cases reported in the literature and added our experience. Data on clinical, histopathology, treatment, and survival were retrieved and analyzed. Survival analysis was by the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Initial clinical and histopathological features were indistinctive, and a definite diagnosis of desmoplastic melanoma at initial assessment was possible in only 23.5% of cases. Among tests, immunohistochemical studies for S-100 and vimentin were all positive. The 5-year disease-free survival rate for oral desmoplastic melanoma was 0%, and the 5-year overall survival rate was 55.0%. Conclusion: Oral desmoplastic melanoma has a high percentage of initial misdiagnosis and propensity for local recurrence. Thus, careful initial diagnosis and adequate surgery may result in improved overall survival.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3195-3199
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• 2016

Background: Skin cancer is a group of heterogeneous malignancies, in general classified into non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and melanoma skin cancer (MSC). Incidences are high in many parts in the world with considerable geographical and racial variation. In the Yemen, there has been scarce information about skin cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic characteristics and histological trend of skin cancer in Southern Governorates of Yemen. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study covered 204 cases of skin cancer at the Modern Histopathology Laboratory and Aden Cancer Registry and Research Center, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Aden, for the period 2006-2013. Data were classified regarding different demographic and tumor related variables and analyzed using CanReg-4 for cancer registry and SPSS (version 21). Results: The commonest encountered skin cancer was NMSC (93.1%). Generally, skin cancer appears slightly more frequently in females than males with a 1:1.06 male: female ratio, with a mean age of 62.9 years. Slightly higher than one-third (36.3%) were from Aden governorate. The head and neck proved to be the most common site in both males and females (58%). Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common histological type of skin cancer (50.5%). Conclusions: Skin cancer is a common cancer in patients living in southern governorates of Yemen. The pattern appears nearly similar to the international figures with a low incidence of MSC.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.655-661
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• 2007

Malignant melanoma is rare in Asians and one of the poorer prognostic diseases. Malignant melanoma accounts for only a small ratio of all skin cancers, but it causes the greatest number of skin cancer - related deaths worldwide. Melanoma incidence has continued to increase worldwide and in Korea, like other countries, the number of patients has increased compared with previous cancer incidence data. In this case report, we describe a case of a malignant melanoma patient who showed neck node metastasis (right supraclavicular area) after wide excision of facial melanoma 2 years before the diagnosis of relapse. The patient refused to get conventional western medical treatment including chemotherapy and the size of cancer increased over the 5 months of clinical follow-up. After 4 months of traditional Korean medical treatment using allergen-removed Rhus verniciflua Stokes(A-RVS), however, the size of cancer mass decreased and the patient showed no side effects. Further study will be needed in order to determine the long-term effect of allergen-removed Rhus verniciflua Stokes on patients with malignant melanoma.