Principal Investigator:
Yakir Levin, MD, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Overview:
Congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN), depending on their size and location, can result in significant psychosocial morbidity. The most disfiguring lesions are the most difficult to resect surgically. Non-surgical treatment — if any — must be tailored to the needs of the individual patient and their family and usually involves many interventions performed under general anesthesia. The possibility of recurrence and of treatment-associated scarring always exists. There is a need for treatment that improves the appearance of the lesions with fewer treatments and with less risk of scarring.
Melanocytes, the cells of which CMN are composed, are known to be more sensitive to cold temperatures than other skin cells such as keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Controlled cooling is therefore a potentially attractive option for treating CMN. This work aims to explore the potential role of topically applied controlled cooling to the treatment of CMN.
Status:
This project was funded by a 2022 PeDRA Research Grant.