1. Melanoma - Skin Cancer
Cancer Project

2. What is cancer?
“Around one third of cancer deaths are due to the 5 leading behavioural and dietary risks: High body mass index, low fruit and vegetable intake, lack of exercise, tobacco use, alcohol use (WHO Cancer Webpage)”.
Cells grows out of control.
Continue to grow, growth results in tumors.
Different types of cancers

4. Cancer Treatments
Surgery: removing the body tissue that has signs of cancer, prevents from spreading throughout the body
Radiation Therapy: example; x-rays. used to kill cancer cells, prevents the cancer cells to stop multiplying.
Has the ability to cure cancer, or to lessen the side effects and or slow down the growth of cancer cells $$
Chemotherapy: First treatment founded in the 1950’s, use of medicine or drugs to treat cancer.
Chemo can help shrink tumors before surgery or radiation
Relieve symptoms, and slow down the growth of cancer cells
Used to kill the cancer cells, in a form of a pill or liquid
Receiving chemo once a day, once a week, once a month, depending on your treatment
What do cancer treatments do to the body of the patient?
Hair loss and loss of appetite Increased risk of infection (losing white blood cells) Fatigue (losing red blood cells)

5. Melanoma-Skin Cancer More aggressive than other types of skin cancer
Disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in melanocytes (cells that color the skin).
Tumors, which are usually brown or black in color
Can develop anywhere on the skin, but they are more likely to start on the chest and back on men and on the legs on women. Neck, face, soles of feet, under nails (common places)

7. Skin Benefits: Covering organs and keep protected
Barrier for germs
Prevents from water loss
Control body temp.
Protects from UV rays
Help make vitamin D
Three Layers of Skin:
Epidermis
Dermis
Subcutis

8. Melanoma Treatments
Early Stage of Melanoma: Surgery, more serious cases are more hard to treat
Immunotherapy: helps the body’s immune system attack melanoma cells
Drugs that block the CTLA-4
PD-1 & PD-L1: Melanoma cells use this protein to evade the immune system
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and Nivolumab (Opdivo) (Drugs that block PD-1)
Drugs that target Melanoma cells:
BRAF Gene; protein that helps signal melanoma cells to divide and grow rapidly
Vemurafenib (Zelboraf) and dabrafenib (Tafinlar) attack the BRAF gene, shrink tumors, and or prevent more from growing.
Taken as pills
Side effects:
Flu-like symptoms Drop in blood pressure

9. How does cancer start in the body?
Checkpoints: Monitor DNA growth
Errors (or mutations)
Normal cells stop at checkpoints, & get fixed immediately
Cancer cells go straight through, and keep dividing, which creates a tumor
How Melanoma starts in the body:
Genes
CDKN2A and CDK4.: a mutation in one of these genes will created a higher risk of Melanoma
CDKN2A : Affects two separate proteins, in two different ways
P16 : Tumor suppressor
P14ARF

10. Environmental Hazards-Melanoma Skin Cancer
Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays; Example (Tanning beds, sun lamps)
Damaging to the DNA cells in skin, abnormal cells start to grow when the DNA of the genes gets damaged and affects the growth of the cells
Blistering sunburns (childhood)
Environmental Carcinogens
Smoking

11. Inheriting Melanoma Cancer
Dysplastic nevus syndrome: People who inherit this condition, have many or at least one close family member with the Melanoma.
Red or blond hair, blue or green eyes, or fair skin that freckles
10% of all people with Melanoma have a family history involving the disease
Shared family lifestyle (Vacations, UV rays, certain gene changes (mutations), fair skin)
More likely to be found in elder
Males have a higher rate

12. Inheriting Melanoma Continued…
Genetic Risk
Mutation in the BRAF gene, possible cause of Melanoma
Lead to uncontrolled cell growth - Cancer
P53 & P16 (Mutation in gene)

13. Inheriting Cancer & Cell Cycle
Born with the genes of cancer inherited from a close relative
Inherited gene mutations which lead to high risk of developing that cancer
Genes involved: tumour suppressor genes, oncogenes, genes encoding proteins
Involved in the DNA repair and cell cycle
Carcinogen metabolism

14. What does Melanoma do directly to the body?
Begins on the skin
Reaching the blood vessels and lymphatics
Can spread within the body
Organs
Fatal
Moles
Dermis
Divided into 4 stages
Based on the depth of the primary tumor

15. ABCDE Rule Of Finding Melanoma Moles
A- Asymmetrical- If you were to cut the mole right down the middle, would it be symmetrical
B-Border- Are the edges blurry or defined?
C-Color- Darker or lighter than usual?
D-Diameter- Is the mole larger than an eraser on the top of a pencil?
E-Evolving- Has the shape or size changed over time?

16. P16 Future Treatment Prevention: Sunscreen
Decrease use of tanning beds
Gene mutation:
Need to focus on the mutation with P16
Less harmful
Directly to the mutated gene
P16

17. Metastasis Stage 4 Melanoma Spread through lymph nodes
Liver, Lungs, Bones, and Brain
Can’t be cured
Treatments

18. Cited Sources
American Melanoma Foundation Facts About Melanoma. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from
Cancer and Your Environment. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from
Cell Cycle, Checkpoint Control and DNA Damage Resources. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from
Did you know? (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from
Familial Malignant Melanoma. (2012, June 25). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from
Gupta, R. (2014, September 1). Melanoma. Retrieved December 6, 2015, from
Melanoma Treatment. (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from
What are the risk factors for melanoma skin cancer? (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from
What is melanoma skin cancer? (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from
What's new in research and treatment of melanoma skin cancer? (n.d.). Retrieved December 4, 2015, from
(n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2015, from