Mole study aims to personalize melanoma screening

NCT ID NCT03080948

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study looked at 73 people with many moles to see if certain mole features can help predict who is most likely to develop melanoma. Participants gave saliva samples and had their moles photographed and analyzed. The goal is to improve risk assessment and make melanoma screening more personalized.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

What this could lead to
If successful, this could help doctors better identify who is at highest risk for melanoma and tailor screening to each person.
What could go wrong
This is a small, observational study that only looks at patterns, not a treatment. The findings may not apply to everyone and need further validation.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Participants

73 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Mar 2017

Finished

Nov 2025

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Who is studied

All patients in the Melanoma Screening and Surveillance Program (MSSP).

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients ≥ 18 years of age * High-risk nevus phenotype (≥ 50 nevi (≥ 2mm in size) and ≥ 1 atypical nevus) * First presented to MSKCC for cutaneous melanoma-related care on or after April 2016 * Cases: diagnoses of unequivocal invasive cutaneous melanomas (AJCC Stages I-IV) confirmed by MSKCC pathology on or after April 2016 * Cases: completion of surgical treatment of primary melanoma * Ability to sign or verbally consent to the informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Controls: Histopathologically borderline melanocytic tumors for which melanoma could not be excluded or that were treated as possible melanomas. * Known germline high-penetrance melanoma predisposition mutation (that is, CDKN2A, CDK4, and BAP1) * Cases: history of invasive cutaneous melanoma (AJCC Stages I-IV) not confirmed by MSKCC pathology * History of acrolentiginous type of cutaneous melanoma or history of mucosal melanoma * Cases and controls: prior administration of systemic medications known to modify nevus phenotype, including but not limited to: MEK inhibitors (trametinib, cobimetinib, etc.), BRAF inhibitors (vemurafenib, dabrafenib, etc.), and immunotherapy (pembrolizumab, nivolumab, atezolizumab, ipilimumab, etc.). Controls: history of Stage 0-IV melanoma confirmed by MSKCC pathology * History of limb amputation or other condition (e.g., tattoos, burns) per investigator discretion that would modify nevus phenotype * Physical inability to undergo total body photography or reflectance confocal microscopy imaging (that is, remain relatively still for durations of 3-5 minutes) * Known hypersensitivity to adhesive rings used for reflectance confocal microscopy * Inability to give informed consent * Have skin afflicted with anther skin condition (for example, psoriasis) that would affect ability to characterize nevus phenotype (per investigator discretion) * Familial cutaneous melanoma history (families with at least one invasive melanoma and two or more other diagnoses of invasive melanoma or pancreatic cancer among first- or second-degree relatives on the same side of the family). We will confirm melanoma family history via medical record documentation, whenever possible, as recommended by previous studies that disproved about half of the reported family histories of melanoma among first-degree relatives in case-control studies. * Age 70 or above

Get updates

Get notified about this study

Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Cutaneous melanoma are added.

Our safety recommendation!

By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use

Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge

    Basking Ridge, New Jersey, 07920, United States

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

    New York, New York, 10065, United States

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Hauppauge

    Hauppauge, New York, 11788, United States

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester

    Harrison, New York, 10604, United States

More trials for these conditions

Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.