Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer, claiming the lives of
8,700 Americans each year. Melanoma can be cured when found at an early
stage, but often it escapes detection masquerading as benign freckles
or moles. It is particularly difficult to find melanomas on the skin of
individuals with many freckles and moles. The Hoag Melanoma/Advanced Skin
Cancer team, in alliance with USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center,
was established to fight melanoma and other fatal skin cancers.
As part of its High Risk Clinic, Hoag has acquired a FotoFinder unit, an
advanced imaging system, which scans the entire skin surface for areas
that could potentially develop into melanoma. Until now, we relied solely
on the naked eye of our experienced dermatologists to identify suspicious
lesions. Acquiring this life-saving technology was made possible by a
gift from Circle 1000.
The FotoFinder Automated Total Body Mapping (ATBM) system allows Hoag’s
melanoma team to take high-resolution, digital total body images. The
device analyzes pigmented lesions to indicate those which must be carefully
examined by the dermatologist. The device incorporates a very high magnification
microscope, called the dermatoscope, which the dermatologist uses to augment
the power of vision.
The scans are stored in memory to allow comparisons of each lesion at a
later time. “Cancer is change. The Fotofinder is the ultimate device
to systematically detect changes in moles,” said Binh Ngo, M.D.,
a high-risk dermatologist from the Keck USC School of Medicine, and lead
dermatologist for the High Risk Clinic. “Melanoma accounts for less
than 5 percent of skin cancer cases, yet causes more than 75 percent of
skin cancer deaths,” she continued. “By offering the most
innovative screening technology available, we are improving the odds of
effectively treating this deadly cancer in our high-risk patients.”
Those lesions which do appear suspicious are biopsied. Through Hoag’s
alliance with USC Norris, dermatopathologists with advanced training and
experience in melanoma evaluate the biopsies to identify which lesions
are malignant. “We go beyond vision, beyond the naked eye, beyond
the microscope in our techniques analyzing the genes within the lesions
to find characteristic patterns for melanoma,” continued Dr. Ngo.
“When patients have a history of affected family members, we also
study the genes to see if there is a hereditary component which could
impact their children.”
Melanoma at an early stage is curable with surgery alone. The Melanoma/Advanced
Skin Cancer Program’s goals are to prevent the disease and to detect
it before it gets out of control. In those patients with more advanced
melanoma, Hoag uses new immunotherapy and chemotherapy agents to also
fight the spread.
With the FotoFinder, the melanoma team hopes to discover more cases in
their earliest, most treatable form – preventing the disease from
spreading throughout the body and giving patients the best odds at beating
the disease and enjoying a high quality of life. “Hoag has made
a big investment in bringing this device to Southern California,”
Dr. Ngo added. “It is a wonderful resource for dermatologists and
their patients in this area.”
The High Risk Clinic, which includes the use of the FotoFinder, is appropriate
for high risk melanoma/advanced skin cancer patients, and is accessed
by physician referral only. Please speak with your dermatologist to see
if this is right for you.