Genomic Atypia of Lesions Clinically Suspicious for Melanoma Is Confined to Lesional Tissue Within Narrow Margins

April 2021 | Volume 20 | Issue 4 | Features | 480 | Copyright © April 2021


Published online February 22, 2021

Ronald Moy MD,a Daniel M. Siegel MD,b Zuxu Yao PhD,c Jim Rock MS,c Michael D. Howell PhD,c Burkhard Jansen MDc

aRodeoDerm Moy Fincher Chips, Beverly Hills, CA
bSUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York, NY and Brooklyn Veterans Administration Medical Center, New York, NY
cDermTech, Inc., La Jolla, CA

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. Approximately 200,000 people are diagnosed with in situ and invasive melanoma, the most aggressive sub-set, each year accounting for approximately 7,000 deaths. Distinguishing early-stage melanoma from atypical nevi remains a challenge for many dermatologists; however, technological advances have increased the probability of successful diagnosis and opportunity for early intervention.1 The Pigmented Lesion Assay (PLA) is a non-invasive genomic test for the earliest melanoma detection that uses adhesive patches to collect skin samples from lesions clinically suspicious for melanoma. Post sample collection, demarcated adhesive patches are macro-dissected robotically utilizing a CO2 laser to separate portions of the patches that sampled lesional tissue from non-lesional tissue with an approximate 1mm margin (Figure 1). Total RNA is isolated from the lesional tissue and