The number of acquired melanocytic naevi, or moles, on an individual is an established risk factor for melanoma. Naevi and melanoma are also known to have significant genetic overlap and similar trajectories in development, with ~30% of melanomas thought to evolve from a pre-existing naevus. The distinction between a benign naevus and a malignant melanoma is not well understood at the molecular level.
This project explores the role of key proteins and miRNAs identified via differential expression analysis between naevi and melanoma, and aims to identify overarching patterns in gene expression and skin phenotypes to improve our understanding of melanoma formation. This project benefits from access to novel technologies - 3D total body images from available studies were used for image-based phenotyping of naevi patterns in skin, and spatial transcriptomics was employed for further molecular analysis of naevi and skin biospecimens. This work is ongoing and results presented herein are preliminary.