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Updated: Jan 5, 2026

A 3D Organotypic Melanoma Spheroid Skin Model
Published on: May 18, 2018
The Evolution of Melanoma - Moving beyond Binary Models of Genetic Progression
Hanlin Zeng1, Robert L Judson-Torres1, A Hunter Shain2
1University of Utah, Department of Dermatology, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Abstract:
To date, over 1000 melanocytic neoplasms, spanning all stages of tumorigenesis, have been sequenced, offering detailed views into their -omic landscapes. This has coincided with advances in genetic engineering technologies that allow molecular biologists to edit the human genome with extreme precision and new mouse models to simulate disease progression. In this review, we describe how these technologies are being harnessed to provide insights into the evolution of melanoma at an unprecedented resolution, revealing that prior models of melanoma evolution, in which pathways are turned 'on' or 'off' in a binary fashion during the run-up to melanoma, are oversimplified.
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