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AbstractBackground:Malignant melanoma (MM) is the most aggressive type of skin cancer, accounting for 90% of all the skin cancer mortality. The objective of this study was providing an overview of current patient- and tumour characteristics, treatment strategies, complications and survival in patients with MM over the past ten years. Hereby, an up-to-date view of every day clinical practice is obtained.Methods:Files of patients treated for primary cutaneous melanoma (n = 686) in the VieCuri Medical Centre in the Netherlands between January 2002 and December 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Relevant patient features, tumour characteristics, and (surgical) outcomes were evaluated.Results:The majority of all the patients presented thin tumours (59.1% stage 1A/in situmelanoma). Men showed more ulceration (17.7% vs. 8.4%, p < .01) and a significantly higher Breslow thickness than women (1.2 mm vs. 0.9 mm, p < .01). 14.6% (40/273) underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB); 10/40 (25%) showed nodal metastasis, 50 patients (7.3%) developed distant metastases (M: 10.6%, F: 5%, p < .01). One-, 5- and 10- year disease specific survival rates were 96%, 86% and 84%, respectively. Median survival for stage 4 MM was 3 months. Extensive surgery was uncommon (n = 3).Conclusions:Patients generally presented with thin melanomas. Lymph node disease and distant metastases remained infrequently observed during following years, and general 1- and 5-year overall disease-specific survival rates exceeded 85%. Small numbers of rescue surgery and palliative medical treatment warrant further centralisation and investigation.

The goal of the National Laboratory Gene Library Project at the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories is the production of chromosome–specific human gene libraries and their distribution to the scientific community for studies of the molecular biology of genes and chromosomes, and for the study and diagnosis of genetic disease. The specific aim of Phase I of the project is the production of complete digest (4 kb average insert size) libraries from each of the 24 human chromosomal types purified by flow sorting. The bacteriophage vector is Charon 21A, which has both Eco R1 and Hind III insertion sites accommodating human DNA fragments up to 9.1 kb in size. Each laboratory has undertaken production of a complete set of chromosome–specific libraries, Los Alamos with Eco R1 and Livermore with Hind III; most of this task has now been accomplished. Close to 1200 library aliquots have been sent to about 300 laboratories world–wide through February 1986, at which time repository and distribution functions were transferred to the American Type Culture Collection, Rockville, Md. Following Phase I, we will begin the construction of libraries with large inserts in a more ad vanced, recently developed bacteriophage vector (about 20 kb inserts) or in a cosmid vector (about 40 kb inserts), and with characteristics better suited to basic studies of gene structure and function.