Melanoma Center

A key part of our surgical program is the Multidisciplinary Melanoma Treatment Program of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital which offers comprehensive treatment and services for melanoma patients.

• Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery
• Surgical Oncology
• Medical Oncology
• Radiation Oncology
• Dermatopathology
• Oculoplastic Surgery
• Head and Neck Surgery
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Patients are seen individually by one or more members of the group. A multidisciplinary conference is held weekly to discuss the patients seen in the Center and to obtain consensus on the most appropriate course of treatment for each of them.  The Center's comprehensive, coordinated patient services include:

• Screening
• Mole Map (full body scan) technology for high risk patients
• Radiation treatment, gamma knife surgery
• Excisional surgery, sentinel node biopsy, and other appropriate surgical procedures
• Interleukin-2 (IL-2) treatment
• Chemotherapy
• Clinical trials of promising new tumor vaccines in the treatment of melanoma

To refer a patient to the Melanoma Center, or for more information about the program, please contact Gail DeRaffele, RN, Clinical Coordinator, at 212.342.0232 or gd2023@columbia.edu.

Melanoma Risk Assessment

It is estimated that 1 in 52 men and 1 in 77 women in the US will be diagnosed with melanoma in their lifetime.  Despite the fact that melanoma is one of the most rapidly increasing forms of human cancer, new treatments have been slow in developing and the mortality rate continues to rise.  We now know that there are several well-defined risk factors for this form of cancer.  Identifying patients at high risk for melanoma and maintaining close surveillance will help assure early detection and implementation of treatment as early as possible.
This program is designed to identify and monitor patients at high risk for melanoma, specifically those with:

• A prior melanoma
• Family history of melanoma
• Atypical/dysplastic nevi
• Large number of nevi
• "Atypical Mole" syndrome
• "Dysplastic Nevus" syndrome

As a part of the program, patients will also be informed about genetic testing and mole mapping. 

Mole Map Photography

Mole map photography is available for patients who have many atypical moles, or who are at high risk for melanoma. By utilizing total body photography, mole mapping provides a baseline for future examinations. The mole map allows changes in lesions or the appearance of a new lesion to be rapidly detected, which is of paramount importance in discovering and successfully treating melanoma in its very earliest stages.

Patients interested in Melanoma Risk Assessment or Mole Map Technology can contact the offices of Julide Tok Celebi, MD at 212.305.8889.