Scientific Agenda
Studies of the human genome and the genomes of many other organisms--hold great promise for approaches to medicine not even imagined a decade ago. The complete DNA sequence of keloid tissue will make it possible to define unique signatures for this entity. This situation has already been achieved for several bacteria and yeast, providing new opportunities for combating infectious diseases and understanding fundamental cell processes. Using rapidly evolving genomic technologies, a very powerful new tool to reveal the secrets of disease susceptibility and the mechanisms by which diseases develop, will create new opportunities for better understanding the pathology of keloids and new ways of treating this condition.
In the past few decades, we have learned that genetic changes lie at the root of all cancers. To be able to look into a single keloid cell, as routinely do in cancers, and read its molecular signature will allow us to determine what is different between a normal skin cell and a keloid cell and will lead to the development of highly specific, sensitive molecular targets and pathways that can be effectively blocked or inhibited with pharmaceutical products of today or tomorrow.