John William Kelly

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of new, changed, and regressed nevi and melanomas in a cohort of patients at high risk for melanoma using baseline total body photography and dermatoscopy.

DESIGN: Cohort study of patients at high risk for melanoma who underwent baseline cutaneous photography between January 1, 1992, and December 31, 1997, and had at least 1 follow-up visit by December 31, 1998.

SETTING: Private practice rooms of 1 dermatologist in conjunction with a public ...

BACKGROUND: Intraepidermal carcinoma (IEC), superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC), and psoriasis are common entities that may all present as well-defined, brightly erythematous plaques. Currently, there are limited data on the dermatoscopic features that differentiate these diagnoses.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to describe the most significant morphologic findings seen on dermatoscopy of IEC, sBCC, and psoriasis, and formulate a diagnostic model based on these features.

METHOD: We conducted ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare partial and excisional biopsy techniques in the accuracy of histopathologic diagnosis and microstaging of cutaneous melanoma.

DESIGN: Prospective case series.

SETTING: Tertiary referral, ambulatory care, institutional practice. Patients Consecutive cases from 1995 to 2006. Interventions Partial and excisional biopsy. Other factors considered were anatomic site, physician type at initial management, hypomelanosis, melanoma subtype, biopsy sample size, multiple ...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Scalp melanoma has a worse prognosis than melanoma elsewhere, though the reasons for this are poorly understood. Current literature describing the clinicopathological associations of scalp melanoma is sparse. This study aims to compare clinical and histological features of scalp melanoma with other cutaneous head and neck melanomas (CHNM).

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed of all primary CHNM cases seen by the Victorian Melanoma Service between 1994 ...

OBJECTIVE: To describe the diagnostic performance of SolarScan (Polartechnics Ltd, Sydney, Australia), an automated instrument for the diagnosis of primary melanoma.

DESIGN: Images from a data set of 2430 lesions (382 were melanomas; median Breslow thickness, 0.36 mm) were divided into a training set and an independent test set at a ratio of approximately 2:1. A diagnostic algorithm (absolute diagnosis of melanoma vs benign lesion and estimated probability of melanoma) was developed and ...

In melanoma, mutations in KIT are most frequent in acral and mucosal subtypes and rarely reported in cutaneous melanomas particularly those associated with intermittent UV exposure. Conversely melanomas arising within chronic sun damaged skin are considered to harbour KIT mutations at higher rates. To characterize the frequency of KIT mutations in a representative melanoma population, 261 patients from two Australian melanoma centres were prospectively screened for mutations in exons 11, ...

BACKGROUND: The clinical behaviour and prognosis of primary melanomas harbouring BRAF mutations is not fully understood.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of mutation status on primary melanoma growth rate and melanoma-specific survival (MSS).

METHODS: A prospective cohort of 196 patients with stage I-III primary cutaneous melanoma were followed for a median of 92 months, pre-dating the institution of BRAF inhibitor therapy. Clinicopathological variables were correlated with mutation ...

BACKGROUND: Various melanocytic lesions are frequently observed. An understanding of phenotypic factors and environmental stimuli that are associated with these lesions may help explain their pathogenesis.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of atypical nevi, blue nevi, cafe-au-lait macules, congenital nevus-like nevi, halo nevi, nevi spili, nevi 5 mm or more in diameter, and skin-colored melanocytic nevi in a population of schoolchildren and to explore risk ...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the spectrum of growth rates in melanomas and to identify clinical associations of rapidly growing melanomas.

DESIGN: Clinical interview, skin examination, and pathology review.

SETTING: Three tertiary melanoma referral centers and 2 private dermatology practices.

PATIENTS: A total of 404 consecutive patients with invasive primary cutaneous melanomas.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: A surrogate for rate of growth in primary invasive melanoma was calculated as the ratio ...

BACKGROUND: Scalp melanomas have more aggressive clinicopathological features than other melanomas and mortality rates more than twice that of melanoma located elsewhere.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to describe the survival of patients with scalp melanoma versus other cutaneous head and neck melanoma (CHNM), and explore a possible independent negative impact of scalp location on CHNM survival.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed of all invasive primary CHNM cases seen at a ...

BACKGROUND: Nodular melanoma (NM), representing 15% to 30% of all melanomas, constitutes nearly half of all melanomas thicker than 2 mm. Nodular melanoma frequently lacks clinical features seen in other melanoma subtypes and has a faster growth rate. We reviewed a series of cases of NM that was less than 1.3 mm thick to identify historical, clinical, and dermoscopic factors that may facilitate earlier diagnosis of NM, with the hope of reducing its associated morbidity and ...

The effect of NRAS mutations on the pathological features and clinical outcomes in patients with cutaneous melanoma was compared with that of tumors containing BRAF(V600E) mutations and tumors wild type for both (WT). Clinical outcome data were obtained from a prospective cohort of 249 patients. Mutations involving NRAS and BRAF(V600E) were detected by PCR and were sequence verified. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to relate NRAS and BRAF mutations to clinical outcome. ...

PURPOSE: The mutation load in melanoma is generally high compared with other tumor types due to extensive UV damage. Translation of exome sequencing data into clinically relevant information is therefore challenging. This study sought to characterize mutations identified in primary cutaneous melanomas and correlate these with clinicopathologic features.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: DNA was extracted from 34 fresh-frozen primary cutaneous melanomas and matched peripheral blood. Tumor ...

BACKGROUND: Case-control studies have identified melanocytic nevi (MN) as the most important phenotypic risk factor for melanoma. A knowledge of any environmental factors that cause MN may facilitate prevention of melanoma.

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to explore the possible role of ambient solar irradiation in the development of MN in children.

METHODS: With a standard protocol developed after international consultation, the same medical observers examined children in three ...

OBJECTIVES: To explore the clinical associations of thick melanoma and to compare the clinicopathological variables of nodular and superficial spreading types.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of all invasive primary melanomas recorded by the Victorian Cancer Registry for 1998 and those reviewed by the Victorian Melanoma Service between October 1, 1994, and April 31, 1999.

SETTING: Population-based cancer registry and public hospital-based multidisciplinary melanoma clinic.

PATIENTS: This ...