Technology - description

The Importance of Early Detection

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancers in the world today, accounting for nearly half of all cancers. Every hour one person in the US dies of melanoma. It has been estimated that 50% of people over the age of 65 in the US will be affected by skin cancer at least once in their life. The survival rate of patients diagnosed with early stage skin cancer is about 99% while the survival rate for patients diagnosed with advanced stage skin cancer is only about 15%. The two most common types of skin cancer—basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas —although highly curable, can be disfiguring and costly to treat. Melanoma, the third most common skin cancer. The majority of these three types of skin cancer are caused by overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. Basal cell carcinoma begins in the basal cell layer of the skin. Squamous cell carcinoma begins in the squamous layer of the skin. Melanoma begins in the melanocytes, which are the cells that make melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color. Treatment costs are directly correlated to clinical stage diagnosis with the treatment of advanced stage melanoma 2200% more than early stage melanoma.The annual cost of treating skin cancer in the United States is estimated at OVER $8.0 billion. Early detection is therefore critical because it allows for more treatment options, higher survival rates and fewer costly, invasive surgeries.

Addressing the current problems with Skin Cancer Detection

In the United States there are only 9,496 certified dermatologists serving a population of over 310 million. With the aging demographic, the number of qualified dermatologists and an increasing number of at risk patients is resulting in an increasing ratio of patients to dermatologists. There are too few dermatologists to the number of skin cancer patients, which results in long wait times and lack of detail in the diagnosis of skin cancers. As a result, many head to frontline care givers which are highly unskilled and generate a large number of unnecessay referrals. Furthermore, the current diagnosis of skin cancer by visual exam, followed by a biopsy, is invasive, expensive, and time consuming. Veriskin addresses these problems by offering a device that can quickly, efficiently and accurately be used to detect all forms of skin cancer.

What Are the Symptoms of Skin Cancer?

A change in your skin is the most common sign of skin cancer. This could be a new growth, a sore that doesn’t heal, or a change in a mole. Not all skin cancers look the same. It has been estimated that nearly half of all Americans who live to age 65 will develop skin cancer at least once.

There are 3 types of skin cancer:

• The most common are non-melanoma skin cancers (basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas). They are treatable and seldom fatal but represent 98% of all skin cancers.
• Malignant melanoma is the third and generally the most serious form of skin cancer as it tends to spread (metastasize) quickly throughout the body. Although Melanoma is only 2% of all skin cancers, it is the most deadly.

Skin cancer may form in basal cells or squamous cells. Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the most common types of skin cancer. They are also called nonmelanoma skin cancer. Actinic keratosis is a skin condition that sometimes becomes squamous cell carcinoma. Melanoma begins in the melanocytes, which are the cells that make melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color. The most common warning sign of skin cancer is a change in the appearance of the skin, such as a new growth or a sore that will not heal. Suspect lesions are not always dark in color, the highest percenatge of skin cancers are non-pigmented lesions. Unexplained changes in the appearance of the skin lasting longer than two weeks should be evaluated by a doctor. Remember, not all skin cancers look the same. Performing the evaluation with the Veriskin Truscore device will provide the physician with an accurate tool to quickly determine if the suspect area is of concern or not.

Veriskin’s Truscore technology is using non-invasive, optical measurements of pressure induced cutaneous hemodynamics to detect angiogenesis-induced structural and functional vascular pathologies in malignant lesions.