Skin cancer has always been attributed to exposure to the sun. In particular, those who receive bad sunburns when young, particularly as a baby, have a higher incidence of skin cancer. However, new studies are pointing to a genetic predisposition to skin cancer as well.

Researchers have made significant advances in the treatment of metastatic malignant melanoma – one of the most difficult cancers to treat successfully once it has started to spread – according to a study to be presented at Europe's largest cancer congress, ECCO 15 – ESMO 34, in Berlin on Thursday.

Recent research has uncovered an unexpected vulnerability in deadly melanoma cells that, when exploited, can cause the cancer cells to turn against themselves. The study, published by Cell Press in the August issue of the journal Cancer Cell, identifies a new target for development of future therapeutics aimed at selectively eliminating this aggressive skin cancer which is characterized by a notoriously high rate of metastasis and treatment-resistance.

Scientists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) have found two new genes that together double a person's risk of developing melanoma.

The pigmented cells in zebrafish help scientists tease out how oncogenes that are know to contribute to cancer, influence the formation and regulation of the aggressive human skin cancer, melanoma

New genetic research suggests that the traditional risk factors for melanoma may not be as helpful in predicting risk in all people as previously thought, according to data presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 100th Annual Meeting 2009.

A protein called Mcl-1 plays a critical role in melanoma cell resistance to a form of apoptosis called anoikis, according to research published this week in Molecular Cancer Research.

Scientists have developed a new approach for surveying phosphorylation, a process that is regulated by critical cell signaling pathways and regulates several key cellular signaling events.

Every tumor, starting from a size of a few millimeters, depends on a supply of nutrients and oxygen. Therefore, using special growth factors, it induces vascular wall cells of neighboring blood vessels to sprout new capillaries in order to get connected to the blood circulation.

By targeting and disabling a protein frequently found in melanoma tumors, doctors may be able to make the cancer more vulnerable to chemotherapy, according to early results of a clinical study conducted by researchers in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.

University of Michigan Health System researchers have published new data to help answer two dreaded questions: "Is it cancer?" and "What type of treatment should I have?"