Tadpoles help with skin cancer drug development

When melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, goes untreated, the mutant pigment cells that are normally responsible for the color of your skin, the melanocytes, start to spread to other parts of the body and form tumors. That's when it becomes almost impossible to stop the disease, and that's why scientists like Grant Wheeler of Britain are looking for a drug that would prevent skin cancer from spreading.

To test out potential drugs, Wheeler has been using tadpoles. Fertilized frog eggs are exposed to the compound being tested and if the tadpoles that grow from the eggs don't develop their normal pattern of color markings it means that the drug has prevented their pigment cells from spreading.

Wheeler has found a compound that does just that, and hopes that it means that it could be used in the future to prevent malignant pigment cells from spreading in humans. Until then, the best way to prevent skin cancer from spreading is early detection. So contact us and make your appointment for a full body skin exam today.

Read the full story on MSNBC.

Read more about skin cancer, melanoma and full-body skin exams on our website.