Overview
The purpose of this research is to identify biological characteristics occurring in the initiation and progression of melanoma.
Eligibility
Inclusion criteria
- Pathologically-proven diagnosis of melanoma.
- Patient must have a test or procedure that has the potential to provide left-over tissue that can be banked for future research purposes OR the patient has already had a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure but who has not yet been approached to participate is also eligible.
Exclusion criteria
- Any patient with significant contraindications to venipuncture (e.g., severe anemia) will be excluded from blood collection procedures. However, if the patient provides consent and a paraffin-embedded block or 10-15 unstained slides of their tissue diagnosis, they will not be excluded from this protocol.
- Any patient unable or unwilling to provide consent.