``Two research teams have identified genes that appear to make skin cancer spread, raising the prospect of quicker diagnosis and better treatments for the most dangerous tumors....Both groups used a technique called gene expression profiling. Glass slides holding thousands of bits of DNA are exposed to genetic material from tumor cells. Byproducts of the cells' genes stick to the DNA on the slide. The technique tells which genes are switched on in the tumor cells and how active they are. Trent's team found up to 200 genes associated with highly invasive melanoma cells. The second study group, led by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, narrowed down their invasive set of genes to just 32.''

Full story at

CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/cancer/08/02/skincancer.genes.ap/index.html