MicroRNA Expression and Function in Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma

Spectrophotometric intracutaneous analysis (SIAscopy) is a new technique for imaging pigmented skin lesions and for diagnosing melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. The SIAscope is a portable system comprising of a laptop computer connected to a small handheld skin probe equipped with a light source. The skin lesion is interrogated with light of different wavelengths and the reflection spectra analysed by proprietary algorithms showing distribution, position and quantity of melanin, blood and collagen within the papillary dermis (the SIAgraphs). Earlier studies generated promising results and documented >80% specificity and sensitivity of SIAscopy for melanoma diagnosis. It has been suggested that this technique could be used for the initial screening and selection of pigmented lesion for excision. In this work we addressed the usefulness of SIAscopy for the clinical diagnosis of pigmented malignant melanoma in a prospective, blinded design.