Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, BETHESDA, MD  –   The John P. Murtha Cancer Center (MCC) at Walter Reed, the Department of Defense’s only Cancer Care Center of Excellence, recently hosted its annual skin cancer summit and screenings at the medical center.

Experts from the National Institutes of Health, INOVA, and the Cleveland Clinic joined Walter Reed’s own specialists to share the latest insights on preventing, diagnosing, and treating skin cancer.

U.S. Navy Capt. (Dr.) Melissa Austin, director of Walter Reed and a board-certified anatomic and clinical pathologist, kicked off the summit discussing the importance of sunscreen in skin cancer prevention. She also shared how the MCC helped shape her career, providing numerous cases she analyzed and provided crucial information for diagnoses and care.

Austin also pointed out a sobering fact: around 1,000 service members are diagnosed with skin cancer each year, making it a real concern for military readiness. The good news, she emphasized, is that new treatments and better diagnostics are making a difference for service members and other patients.

The summit covered a range of topics. Dr. Isaac Brownell from the NIH discussed Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare but aggressive skin cancer. He highlighted new markers that are helping doctors diagnose it with better accuracy and shared that immunotherapy has become an effective standard treatment.

Dr. Jennifer DeSimone, from INOVA, focused on cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, explaining that while the cancer usually slow growing, its treatments can include topical creams to advanced immunotherapies.

Dr. Edward Maytin of the Cleveland Clinic addressed photodynamic therapy (PDT), a treatment for precancerous skin lesions and actinic keratosis. He described PDT as non-scarring, repeatable, and pain-free. He shared that the FDA may approve PDT for use as an immune booster for basal cell carcinoma, and as a possible vaccine for squamous cell carcinoma and multiple myeloma.

As the summit wrapped up, U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. (Dr.) Russell Newkirk reminded everyone why prevention matters. “Using broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF30 or greater, wearing sun protection, and seeking shade during peak sun hours are simple yet powerful actions that can help reduce the risk of skin damage and skin cancer,” he said.

After the summit, Walter Reed dermatologists provided skin cancer screenings for Military Health System beneficiaries in the medical center’s dermatology outpatient clinic.