Mohs Paste for Treating Melanoma
“I believe chemosurgery with zinc chloride paste, followed by wide excision, is a better way to remove a melanoma than fresh tissue surgery.”
There was a very interesting review published recently about the use of Zinc Chloride paste and treating melanoma. This is a technique that is not widely known – but amongst the people who do know it – widely admired. The idea here is that applying Zinc Chloride paste to a melanoma BEFORE it is excised may stimulate an immune response to help the body fight the melanoma. Almost in a similar way that a melanoma vaccine would work.
Pros: May improve survival, Does not interfere with the standard of care (ie: this is a complement to the standard – not a substitution for the standard), Inexpensive, Anyone with a deep melanoma would be a candidate, May help treat distant metastatic lesions
Cons: Not FDA approved, May be difficult to find a dermatologist who has/knows of the technique, Some patients can develop flue like symptoms while the immune response occurs (which may be related to a better response to treatment)
It is our hope that researchers will pick up this pearl and conduct a formalized study, as formal research on this technique is sorely lacking – likely because there is no pharmaceutical incentive to sponsor the research
The full article can be found here.