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Skin SPOREs

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. The three major types of skin cancer are squamous cell carcinoma, the highly curable basal cell carcinoma, and the more recalcitrant malignant melanoma. Basal and squamous cell carcinomas are by far the most common and are estimated to occur in 3.3 million individuals in the United States each year, with estimated deaths of 2,000 to 8,000, according to the American Cancer Society. For melanoma of the skin, according to NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data, over 100,640 individuals in the United States will be diagnosed with the disease in 2024, with estimated 8,290 deaths. Exposure to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays appears to be the most important environmental factor involved in the development of skin cancer. The annual rate of new cases in 2017-2021 was 21.2 per 100,000 persons; 2.0 deaths per 100,000 persons were observed annually in the years 2018-2022. Currently, projects in the Skin Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) program are focused predominantly on melanoma. However, Skin SPORE projects may also include other skin cancer types.

Yale University Skin Cancer SPORE

University of Pittsburgh Melanoma and Skin SPORE

Wistar Institute and University of Pennsylvania Skin Cancer SPORE

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