Mobile app for early skin cancer detection – steiermark.ORF.at

While white skin cancer is the most common tumor disease, black skin cancer is one of the deadliest, dermatologist Christian Pausch told a news conference on Tuesday. To ensure that both types of cancer are detected early, Austrian physicians have developed a mobile phone app that scans suspicious skin areas and displays the risk in traffic light colors green, yellow and red. Is.

Clinical study shows accuracy

Michael Tripolt of the Graz University Clinic for Dermatology and Venereology reported that with the mobile phone application programme, 5,000 cases of skin cancer were detected in Austria in early 2021, potentially saving lives. If melanoma (black skin cancer) is discovered and treated before it grows deeper than a millimeter in the skin, the chance of recovery will be more than 95 percent. However, in advanced stages, the patient’s chances of survival drop significantly.

more than just a picture

According to a clinical study in Meduni Graz, the Skinscreener app developed by Tripolt and his colleagues at the Styrian start-up company “Media” detected “clinically relevant skin tumors”, i.e., of white and dark skin, with a certainty of 98 percent. Cancer is detected. to the doctor. You have to take a picture with a cell phone camera from a distance of about 15 centimeters, the cell phone app’s artificial intelligence (AI) then evaluates the pictures and signals the risk of a fatal skin change in traffic light colors. Depending on the result, you should go to a dermatologist right away, or you can be reassured, it said. App is free to test, regular usage cost.

Special creams for risk groups

There is also a special sunscreen for those at risk, “Heliocare 360° AK Fluid”, which helps repair potential genetic damage to skin cells and also provides extremely high UV protection, from Lower Austrian pharmaceutical company von Pelpharma Werner Peljak said. In addition to a sun protection factor of 138 against UV-A and 50 against UV-B radiation, it will contain three repair enzymes for DNA damage caused by UV light.

Broccoli extract against tumors

One of these replaces individual damaged “characters” (bases) in the genome, the other the entire genome if multiple bases are affected. A third enzyme cleaves the misconnected base (thymine dimer). In addition, a substance (sulforaphane) from broccoli extract will strengthen the tumor defense system by stimulating the production of the “tumor suppressor p53” in cells.

According to Peljak, this product would be especially suitable for patients whose skin has already changed, or for people who spend a lot of time in the sun at work and are therefore at high risk, such as roofers, ski instructors. and Mountain Guide.