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Query: UMLS:C0025202 (melanoma)
 69,561 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In the absence of more effective treatment for advanced tumors, early diagnosis and treatment of localized tumors is the most effective way of reducing the burden of illness associated with melanoma. This study examined the following factors: prevalence of signs of melanoma (a mole changing in size, shape, appearance, or color, itching or tingling, bleeding or weeping, becoming raised) in 1344 individuals in a randomly selected sample of 1075 households; the length of delay in seeking medical advice; the factors associated with either going to a medical practitioner or not going/delaying; and the actions of the medical practitioners when first presented with these signs. The results indicate that a large proportion of the sample (11.9%, n = 156) had observed signs of melanoma in the previous 12 months. Of the sample reporting signs that had first appeared in the previous 5 years, only 32% sought medical advice about the signs within the recommended period. Of the sample either not seeking advice at all or delaying, 49% reported that they thought the sign "wasn't serious/would clear up." Furthermore, 30% of the sample either did not known or underrated the importance of early detection and treatment of lesions. These results indicate that there is a deficit in the knowledge of the general public about the signs of melanoma, the severity of the disease, and the possible risks associated with delay.
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PMID:A community study of delay in presenting with signs of melanoma to medical practitioners. 173 10

Taxol (paclitaxel, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ), a drug extracted from the stem bark of the western yew, shows great promise as an antineoplastic agent for ovarian, breast, nonsmall cell lung, and head and neck cancers; melanoma; and leukemia. Although Taxol first was isolated in 1971, completion of many phase I studies was delayed until 1988, primarily because the drug caused severe hypersensitivity reactions. Other side effects of Taxol include cardiotoxicity, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, mucositis, myelosuppression, tingling and numbness of the hands and feet, myalgia and arthralgia, alopecia, fatigue, headache, irritation at the injection site, and taste changes. Nursing care includes measures for preventing or minimizing side effects, close assessment and monitoring of potential side effects, patient education, and support. Because of the environmental impact of harvesting the western yew for Taxol, semisynthetic preparations such as taxotere are being explored.
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PMID:Taxol: a promising new drug of the '90s. 790 60

Primary spinal malignant melanoma is an extremely rare condition. We here describe a case of a 71-year-old Asian female presenting with left upper extremity tingling sensation. Computed tomography (CT) showed a homogeneously enhanced mass occupying the left neural foramen at the C6-7 level. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed enhanced mass in intra- and extradural space compressing the spinal cord at this level. It also widened the neural foramen mimicking neurofibroma or schwannoma. Partial resection of the mass was performed. Pathologic diagnosis of the mass was malignant melanoma. Postoperative whole body positron emission tomography/CT scan demonstrated an intense (18)F-FDG uptake at the residual mass site without abnormal uptake at other sites in the body.
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PMID:Findings from CT, MRI, and PET/CT of a primary malignant melanoma arising in a spinal nerve root. 2012 97

Topical photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a widely used non-invasive treatment for certain non-melanoma skin cancers, permitting treatment of large and multiple lesions with excellent cosmesis. High efficacy is demonstrated for PDT using standardized protocols in non-hyperkeratotic actinic keratoses, Bowen's disease, superficial basal cell carcinomas (BCC) and in certain thin nodular BCC, with superiority of cosmetic outcome over conventional therapies. Recurrence rates following PDT are typically equivalent to existing therapies, although higher than surgery for nodular BCC. PDT is not recommended for invasive squamous cell carcinoma. Treatment is generally well tolerated, but tingling discomfort or pain is common during PDT. New studies identify patients most likely to experience discomfort and permit earlier adoption of pain-minimization strategies. Reduced discomfort has been observed with novel protocols including shorter photosensitizer application times and in daylight PDT for actinic keratoses.
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PMID:European guidelines for topical photodynamic therapy part 1: treatment delivery and current indications - actinic keratoses, Bowen's disease, basal cell carcinoma. 2466 45

Purpose: To describe a man with an adherent tick mimicking a melanoma, summarize the salient features of this condition, and review other cases of ticks mistaken for dermatoses. Background: Ticks are obligatory ectoparasites. Disease-causing ticks belong to two families: Ixodidae (hard ticks) and Argasidae (soft ticks). Ticks thrive by consuming blood from animal hosts, and the transfer of infected blood from one host to the next is the method by which ticks spread disease. Materials and methods: The authors describe a man who presented to their dermatology clinic in New York with an unusual black pigmented lesion on the right zygomatic region of his face. He was worried about how rapidly the lesion had developed and the tingling of the skin surrounding it. Since the patient had a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer, he was concerned that the lesion was a melanoma. An excisional biopsy of the lesion revealed a non-Ixodes tick with a surrounding tick-bite reaction. Results: Ticks cause cutaneous manifestations through physical trauma and their salivary contents. A number of reports describe a similar phenomenon of a persistent tick being mistaken for a nodule or tumor. Management includes complete removal of a tick, either mechanically or surgically, along with the appropriate work-up for tick-borne diseases in the relevant geographic location. The decision to test for systemic disease depends on the clinical presentation of the patient and geographic location of the tick bite. Conclusion: A patient presented to the authors' dermatology clinic with a pigmented lesion suspicious for a melanoma, but the lesion was actually an adherent non-Ixodes tick. This case illustrates the importance of keeping insects and arthropods in the differential diagnosis of a sudden- and recent-onset pigmented skin lesion.
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PMID:Ticks and Tick Bites Presenting as "Funny Moles": A Review of Different Presentations and a Focus on Tick-borne Diseases. 2836 Sep 69

We provide the first report of amyopathic dermatomyositis combined with peripheral neuropathy. Our patient, a 49-year-old woman, initially experienced muscle weakness and tingling sensations in her legs, and nerve conduction study findings and the detection of antiganglioside antibodies indicated that she had autoimmune peripheral neuropathy. The unexpected presence of skin lesions, interstitial pneumonia and antibodies to melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 prompted an additional diagnosis of amyopathic dermatomyositis. No previous report has described amyopathic dermatomyositis with peripheral neuropathy, and the present case provides evidence for the once-controversial concept of neuromyositis.
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PMID:Amyopathic dermatomyositis combined with peripheral neuropathy. 3325 80