The proper diagnosis and management of pigmented lesions and melanoma can be extremely challenging, but significant strides have been made on multiple fronts in our understanding of the best approaches to these lesions. In this issue, Arthur Sober and his colleagues describe the new changes to the AJCC staging system, Beth Ruben discusses the issues surrounding pigmented lesions of the nail, Kara Shah examines the risk of melanoma and neurocutaneous melanosis in congenital nevi, and Rossitza Lazova and Maria Miteva review the difficulties associated with management of Spitz nevi and the “atypical Spitzoid neoplasm.” Steven Wang and Pantea Hashemi review different imaging modalities, and Suephy Chen and her colleagues discuss the literature surrounding photoprotection measures and serum vitamin D levels. Hensin Tsao and his colleagues describe our current knowledge of the genetic determinants of melanoma predisposition, and the issue concludes with Keith Flaherty and Igor Puzanov’s review of the latest information regarding targeted therapy for metastatic melanoma. I hope that the reader will find the authors’ insights to be helpful when faced with similar situations in daily practice, and I thank all the authors for sharing their expertise.
This issue is dedicated to Marie-France Demierre, who was to have been a contributor to this issue before her untimely passing. She was not only an excellent clinician, researcher, and teacher, but also a wonderful colleague and friend, and she is missed.
Michael E. Ming, MD, MSCE
Guest Editor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine,
Philadelphia, PA