WHAT:A new application for the Apple iPhone enables users to measure and track their moles by comparing their potential trouble spots over time. The ‘Mole Mapper’ app was developed using ResearchKit, an open source framework developed by Apple, Inc., and is free to download from the App Store. Scientists who study melanoma use the de-identified data from users to complement other research efforts.

WHY:Although a rare form of skin cancer, melanoma is by far the most deadly. The earlier it is found, the more likely it can be treated and even cured.

The ‘Mole Mapper’ app analyzes digital photos of moles and other skin conditions that users take with their cell phones over time. By comparing the photos, scientists hope to discover the telltale skin changes that lead to melanoma. The de-identified data will enhance other efforts in melanoma research.

WHO:A national team of melanoma scientists worked with Apple, Inc., to create the ‘Mole Mapper’ app. The team included Marianne Berwick, PhD, at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center. A full list of thought leaders may be found at: http://www.ohsu.edu/news/media/images/Mole_Mapper_Thought_Leaders.pdf

WHEN:Oregon Health & Science University, which led the effort to create the app, announced its release on October 15, 2015, in a press release, http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/news_events/news/2015/10-15-ohsu-releases-mole-mappe.cfm

WHERE:The ‘Mole Mapper’ app may be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id1048337814

CONTACT:Dorothy Hornbeck, JKPR, 505-340-5929, [email protected]Michele Sequeira, UNM Cancer Center, 505-925-0486, [email protected]

About the UNM Comprehensive Cancer CenterThe University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center is the Official Cancer Center of New Mexico and the only National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center in a 400-mile radius. One of the premier cancer centers nationwide, the UNM CCC has 128 board-certified oncology physicians, forming New Mexico’s largest cancer care team. It treats about 60 percent of adults and virtually all the children in New Mexico diagnosed with cancer — more than 10,000 people— from every county in the state in more than 135,000 clinic visits each year. Through its partnership with the New Mexico Cancer Care Alliance, an “exemplary national model for cancer health care delivery,” the UNM CCC offers access to more than 160 clinical trials to New Mexicans in every part of the state. Annual research funding of more than $72 million supports the UNM CCC’s 132 cancer scientists. Working with partners at Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, and New Mexico State University, they have developed new diagnostics and drugs for leukemia, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, liver and pancreatic cancer, brain cancer, and melanoma; garnered 33 new patents and 117 patents pending; and launched 13 new biotechnology companies since 2010. Learn more at www.cancer.unm.edu.