Vitiligo skin disorder could yield clues in fight against melanoma

Researchers focus on immune system's role in vitiligo and melanoma

MAYWOOD, Ill. – About 1 million Americans suffer a skin disorder called vitiligo, which causes unsightly white patches on the face, hands and other parts of the body.

A Loyola University Hospital researcher has won a five-year, $1.7 million federal grant to investigate a new way to treat vitiligo. This research also could point the way to new treatments for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Vitiligo appears to be an auto-immune disease, in which the immune system goes into overdrive and kills pigment cells, which give skin its color. Loyola researcher Caroline Le Poole, PhD, is studying how to stop vitiligo. The goal is to adjust the immune system so that it stops attacking pigment cells. Conversely, melanoma would be treated by revving up the immune system to attack malignant pigment cells.

"Things we learn from vitiligo could apply to melanoma, and vice versa," Le Poole said. Le Poole is an associate professor in the Oncology Institute of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Although melanoma accounts for less than 5 percent of skin cancers, it is responsible for most of the skin cancer deaths. There will be more than 62,000 new melanoma cases in the United States this year, and more than 8,000 deaths, the American Cancer Society said.

Vitiligo (vit-ill-EYE-go) affects about 0.5 percent of the world's population. It affects both sexes and all races. However, "the darker the skin, the more noticeable it is," said Loyola dermatologist Dr. Anthony Peterson, an assistant professor at Stritch. "The contrast is what people notice."

In the most common form of vitiligo, white patches form on both sides of the body. In 1993, singer Michael Jackson told Oprah Winfrey he has symptoms consistent with vitiligo. Last year, Lee Thomas, an African American TV anchor/reporter in Detroit, published a memoir about vitiligo titled "Turning White."

Vitiligo also can be distressing to Caucasians. Cathy Kalnicky, 47, has had vitiligo since she was 30. It's on her face, arms, legs and hands. The patches are more noticeable during the summer, when Kalnicky develops a deep tan while watching her three daughters play softball. "I get a lot of questions when I'm out in public," she said. "And some occasional stares."