The most deadly form of skin cancer - melanoma, has its unique signature of chemicals found scientists from Monell Chemical Senses Center and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The survey can help opening new, non-invasive method for the diagnosis of melanoma at an early stage. The discovery was published in the special report in the journal Journal of Chromatography B.
Melanoma is the most aggressive and dangerous type of skin cancer. It is characterized by rapid growth and early spread to other parts of the body.
Melanoma is a typical black because melamine synthesized by the cells. However, there are colorless (leuco-melanoma), in the course of their malignant tumor cell degeneration have lost the ability to synthesize a pigment. These melanomas usually more malignant than black.
The relationship between the melanoma cells is very weak. They are easily removed from the tumor and were brought through the blood or lymph. Therefore melanoma metastasizes very early and abundantly throughout the body - regional lymph nodes, internal organs, muscles, bones, brain, and if the patient has other cancers - even in them. Likewise, melanoma cells are generally well-differentiated, which makes them less sensitive to chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and reduces the immune response against them, and this contributes to the rapid growth of the tumor.
For his research team scientists from University of Pennsylvania used the samples grown in the laboratory melanomas in three stages of development, and healthy cells. Once individual samples proved that there are significant differences in the concentration of certain chemicals that produce odors between normal cells and those infected with melanomas.
Researchers are even able to "see" the differences between different types of melanoma cells from detaching from their chemical signatures.