Mount Sinai received a $10 million gift from the Waldman Family to open the Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center at Mount Sinai.
Housed within the Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Department of Dermatology at the May Center for Mount Sinai Doctors, at 5 E. 98th Street in Manhattan, the new Waldman Melanoma and Skin Center will provide patients with comprehensive, coordinated services across the Mount Sinai Health System, in partnership with the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai.
With both doctors and scientists working together, exchanging clinical insights and laboratory findings, the goal of the Waldman Melanoma and Skin Center is to design the best treatment for each patient—and to advance early melanoma and skin cancer diagnosis, treatment, and research. With approximately 75,000 new cases of melanoma diagnosed in the United States each year and 9,000 melanoma-related deaths, melanoma is the most dangerous skin cancer.
"The Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center will capitalize on the benefits of Mount Sinai's expertise in translational research and provide patients with early detection and prevention, new therapies and outside the box research approaches at one of the most advanced centers in the country," says Emma Guttman-Yassky, Waldman Professor and Chairwoman, The Kimberly and Eric J. Waldman Department of Dermatology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "I am honored the Waldman Family is sharing their generous support for this new state-of-the art center that will help position Mount Sinai as a leader in this field."
"Kimberly and I are proud to support this new and innovative initiative," said Mr. Waldman. "We look forward to the advancement of scientific discoveries in melanoma, help patients receive the best care possible for this disease and potentially save thousands of lives."
With highly trained specialists skilled in caring for different types of melanoma, patients at the Waldman Melanoma and Skin Center will have access to the newest diagnostics and therapies such as Canfield Vectra180 – a 3D whole body imaging system that captures nearly the entire skin surface in macro quality resolution, and will be able to capture early skin cancer lesions; Nevisense—a safe diagnostic support tool utilizing Electrical Impedence Spectroscopy (EIS) which is applied as a harmless electrical signal to the skin; Vivascope 1500—a non-invasive confocal imaging system which offers a non-invasive way to image the skin to the superficial collagen layers; and innovative technologies which non-invasively collects skin cells through adhesive patches rather than a scalpel to diagnose atypical pigmented lesions (or moles) at high risk for melanoma.
"Melanoma can be a deadly skin cancer and a small tumor on the skin can metastasize quickly if not treated," explains Jonathan Unger, MD, Medical Director, Waldman Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center and Assistant Professor of Dermatology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "But at the Center, our job is to diagnose patients with melanoma as well as other skin cancer early, treat the cancer as soon as we find it and prevent it from spreading." Mount Sinai's Department of Dermatology carries out over 50,000 skin cancer checks per year throughout the Mount Sinai Health System.
Additionally, Mount Sinai's Department of Dermatology is one of very few clinical sites in the world to offer two non-invasive imaging devices that can evaluate, diagnose and monitor skin cancers. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) are two technologies that can be used to view cellular structures below the surface of the skin, enhancing diagnostic accuracy of both benign and skin cancer lesions. These devices are non-invasive and have been shown to reduce the need for biopsy. They are also useful in delineation of surgical margins as well as for long-term monitoring over time.
Said Dr. Ungar, "This new facility allows our talented Mount Sinai faculty the ability to provide the highest quality care to our patients with an integrated approach that combines early detection and treatment with advanced surgical and Mohs techniques to remove skin cancers, as well as additional services as needed from oncologists and other specialties, while providing patients with the best possible results all in one place."
