Undercover BruiseTeam: 61 School: Jackson Middle School Area of Science: Medicine
Interim: Team number: 61
School Name: Jackson Middle School
Area of Science: Medical
Project Title: Undercover Bruise
Problem Definition- Acral Lentiginous Melanoma is the most common form of melanoma in Asian and people with dark skin, accounting 50% of melanoma that occur in people with these skin types. ALM is sometimes referred to as “hidden melanoma” because these lesions occur on parts of the body that is not easily or thought necessary to examine. ALM can develop on the palms, soles, mucous membranes (line of the mouth,nose, and female genitals), and underneath or near fingernails and toenails.
ALM can be mistaken, in the early stages, as a bruise, or a nail streak. As the ALM tumor increases in size, it usually becomes more irregular in shape and color. Sometimes the lesions can be lightly colored or even colorless, but the lesion may remain flat, even though the tumor invades the skin very deeply. The thickness of the ALM on the sole of the foot will make walking very painful and can be mistaken for a plantar wart. An uncommon melanoma is when it appears to be pin or red nodule called amelanotic melanoma. Desmoplastic Neutrophic Melanoma is also another uncommon melanoma. It appears to be pigmented scar. When a scar appears on the skin without being injured, then DNM can be suspected. DNM tends to appear on sun-damaged skin. Most likely on elderly, occurring on the head and/or neck. When you notice the following, make sure to contact your doctor as soon as possible:
- Bruise does not fade or comes and goes
- Nail lifts up or separates from the nail bed
- New nail streak not associated with recent trauma
- Enlarging nail streak
- Wide or very darkly pigmented nail streak
- Pigmented mass in the mouth
- Nosebleeds and nasal stuffiness
Problem Solution- The problem with acral lentiginous melanoma is that no one knows its etiology. Our project’s goal is to identify it. Once that is identified, it’ll be easier for people to protect themselves from getting it. We will look at what patients, which have been diagnosed with this skin cancer, have in common and use that information to help draw conclusions. We will also speak with doctors so that they can help us learn more about the cancer. Computationally, we will write a program that will help others understand how it starts. We will have different agents taking roles as the causes, the cancer cells, and regular blood cells.
Progress To Date- Presently we have figured out how we are going to do our project and what program we are going to use for our model. We are currently learning and teaching each other how to use Netlogo. A lot of research has, also, been done through the web, books, and information sheets. We are also trying to find a mentor so we can start looking at what their patients have in common. We have started a Power Point that describes what acral lentiginous melanoma is and are planning to finish it once our research is done.
Expected Results- After doing much research, analyzing data and programming, we expect to find the following. First, we expect to find the cause or causes of acral lentiginous melanoma. Then we also expect to find out ways that people can prevent themselves from getting this skin cancer.
Reference Pages-
• Skin Cancer Net:
http://www.skincarephysicians.com/skincancernet/four_types.html#Acral%20Lentiginous%20Melanoma
• Absolute Astronomy:
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Acral_lentiginous_melanoma#encyclopedia
• Articlebase, Acral Lentiginous Melanoma
http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/complete-information-on-acral-lentiginous-melanoma-with-treatment-and-prevention-459926.html
• USA Today
http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/187/main.html
Team Members: Kelsey Theriot
Sandra LeNguyen
Karina Ortega
Sponsoring Teacher: Karen Glennon Mail the entire Team |
