Current opinion in oncology
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In this review, the gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations of malignant melanoma including primary mucosal melanoma of the GI tract and metastatic melanoma to the GI tract are discussed. Although malignant melanoma most commonly arises in the skin, primary melanomas can also arise from the mucosal epithelial lining of the gastrointestinal tract. The vast majority of gastrointestinal melanoma is metastatic from a cutaneous primary; however, there is evidence that melanoma can arise de novo from within certain areas of the gastrointestinal system. The sporadic nature and small numbers of patients reported in the literature with mucosal melanomas have prevented a good understanding of the pathogenesis, natural history, and optimal treatment of this uncommon presentation of melanoma.
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Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and is one of the world's leading causes of preventable death. Technologic advances have brought new modalities that may be useful for the early detection of lung cancer. However, because of the large number of persons at increased risk for lung cancer, screening is a formidable task. ⋯ The EUROSCAN trial evaluation of vitamin A and N-acetylcystine also showed no benefit to supplementation in reducing risk for lung cancer. Results from the Intergroup study of 1 3-cis-retinoic acid are pending, and plans are underway for an Intergroup trial studying high selenium yeast to reduce lung cancer risk. Hopefully, the combination of identifying markers of increased risk among the numerous current and former smokers will identify high-risk populations to participate in future trials of promising agents that may lead to reduction in incidence and mortality of the leading cause of cancer death.