MIAMI, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire)— According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer by age 70. However, when detected early the five-year survival rate for melanoma, one of the deadliest cancers, is 99 percent. Now, doctors are using artificial intelligence to increase their odds of catching cancer early.
There’s so much fun to have in the sun. The sun’s UV rays are linked to 90 percent of non-melanoma skin cancers, but …
“If you can detect a cancer early, your survival is going to increase, especially for melanoma,” explained Jill Waibel, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at Baptist Health.
Now a first-of-its-kind machine is helping doctors spot cancer early. Vectra WB360 is a total body mapping system.
“We have the ability to do the 3D images so we can see parts of the body that are not accessible with the 2D images,” described Naiara Braghiroli, MD, PhD, a dermatologist at Baptist Health’s Miami Cancer Institute.
Using 92 cameras, the machine takes multiple pictures in less than ten seconds.
“Then the system creates, like 3D images, what we call an avatar of the patient, and we can navigate in every single lesion, every part of the skin,” illustrated Dr. Braghiroli.
The Vectra also uses artificial technology to track changes, such as size, color, and irregularities over time.
“And these are going to give us a number that’s going to tell us if the lesion is more likely to be malignant or not,” Dr. Braghiroli added.
Reducing the need for unnecessary biopsies.
“Machines are going to make us better doctors,” concluded Dr. Waibel.
Detecting cancer early and stopping it in its tracks.
The mapping system does not replace an evaluation by a dermatologist. Instead, doctors say it’s supposed to be used with a dermatologist to monitor high-risk patients. There are about 15 Vectra mapping systems in the world. Ten of them are located in the United States in New York, Virginia, and Florida.
Contributors to this news report include: Cyndy McGrath, Executive Producer; Milvionne Chery, Field Producer; Judy Reich, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
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Sources:
https://blog.livestrong.org/10-things-you-should-know-about-skin-cancer-bd4e51c5da82
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TOPIC: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MAPS OUT SKIN CANCER
REPORT: MB #4891
BACKGROUND: Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. The two most common types of skin cancer, basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma, are highly curable, but can be disfiguring and costly to treat. Melanoma, which is the third most common skin cancer, is more dangerous and causes the most deaths. Most cases of these three types of skin cancer are caused by overexposure to ultraviolet light (UV). Ultraviolet rays are an invisible type of radiation that comes from the sun, tanning beds, and sunlamps. In addition to causing sunburn, too much exposure to UV rays can change skin texture, cause the skin to age prematurely, and can lead to skin cancer. UV rays also have been linked to eye conditions such as cataracts.
(Source: https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/basic_info/what-is-skin-cancer.htm)
DIAGNOSING SKIN CANCER: To diagnose skin cancer, doctors may examine a person’s skin to determine whether changes are likely to be cancer. Further testing may be needed to confirm that diagnosis. Doctor may also remove a sample of suspicious skin for testing, otherwise known as a skin biopsy. A biopsy can determine whether a person has skin cancer and, if so, what type of cancer they have. If a doctor determines a person has skin cancer, that person may have additional tests to determine the stage of the cancer.
Because superficial skin cancers such as basal cell carcinoma rarely spread, a biopsy that removes the entire growth often is the only test needed to determine the stage. If a person has a large squamous cell carcinoma, Markel cell carcinoma or melanoma, their doctor may recommend further tests to determine the extent of the cancer. Additional tests might include imaging tests to examine the nearby lymph nodes for signs of cancer or a procedure to remove a nearby lymph node and test it for signs of cancer otherwise known as a sentinel lymph node biopsy.
(Source: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/skin-cancer/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20377608)
Fecal Microbiota Transplants Help Advanced Melanoma Patients with Immunotherapy: For patients with cancers that do not respond to immunotherapy drugs, adjusting the composition of microorganisms in the intestines, known as the gut microbiome, using stool, or fecal, transplants may help some of these individuals respond to the immunotherapy drugs, a new study suggests. Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center for Cancer Research, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, conducted the study in collaboration with investigators from UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at the University of Pittsburgh. In the study, some patients with advanced melanoma who initially did not respond to treatment with an immune checkpoint inhibitor, a type of immunotherapy, did respond to the drug after receiving a transplant of fecal microbiota from a patient who had responded to the drug. The results suggest that introducing certain fecal microorganisms into a patient’s colon may help the patient respond to drugs that enhance the immune system’s ability to recognize and kill tumor cells.
(Source: https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/fecal-transplants-cancer-immunotherapy)
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(833) 692-2784
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