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What We Know About Keloid:
- Keloid Mostly Affects African Americans and Asians
- Keloid Can be a Familial Disease
- Keloid Can Appear in Various Shapes and Sizes
- Keloid Is a Hard to Treat Disease
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How Can we Learn More about Keloid:
- Doing Research on Keloid Tissue
- Looking at the Genes of The Keloid Tissue
- Looking at Biochemical Pathways
- Trying to Grow Keloid Tissue in the Laboratory
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Purposes of Keloid Tissue Banking are to:
- Facilitate Laboratory Research on Keloid Tissue
- Provide Researchers with a Central Access to Keloid Tissue Samples
- Develop New Diagnostic Tools for Keloids
- Develop New Therapies for this Disease
- Analyze Keloid Tissue in Future with New Methods
- Correlate Response to a Treatment with Laboratory Findings
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Who Can Participate in this Study?
- You Have Had a Keloid Removed from Your Skin, or
- You are Planning to have Surgery for Your Keloid, or
- You Are Willing to have Keloid Biopsy
- You Sign the Informed Consent Form
Keloid Tissue Bank
Longitudinal Clinical Data Repository; A Genomic and Molecular Research to Identifying Molecular Markers and Signal Transduction Pathways in Keloid; and Correlations with the Natural History of the DiseaseKeloids are benign, localized proliferations of cutaneous connective tissue secondary to an abnormal repair process characterized by excessive collagen or glycoprotein deposition in predisposed individuals. Despite their benign nature, keloids may constitute a severe aesthetic and, in some cases, functional problem with important repercussions on patients' quality of life. Keloids are mostly observed between ages of 10 and 30. The purposes and goals of current trial are to: 1. Establish a tissue repository, i.e. a tissue bank, to collect and preserve tissue samples from patients with keloids. 2. Tissue will be used in future to better understand the biology of keloid as well as studying the genomics, proteomics and signal transduction pathways, receptors to various ligands, in this disease. 3. Although investigator is contemplating specific methods of study at the current time, the future testing methodologies may be different than what we currently do. 4. Prospectively collect clinical data from patients in an attempt to better understand the natural history of this disease; and 5. Correlate clinical findings with the research laboratory findings 6. Identify and re-contact patients with particular genomic and molecular markers that may qualify for a future IRB approved clinical trial. 7. To collect blood and/or saliva from patients for keloid genomic testing and to correlate the findings with the genomics of the keloid tissue. With prior consent from patients, investigator intends to collect not only keloid tissue, but also small amount blood and also small amount of normal skin from each patient, from an area that is adjacent to the keloid. Each patient may undergo one or more biopsies or blood draws during the span of this study. Tissue biopsy may be repeated from the same or a different keloid in the same patient. Investigator is cognizant that the biopsy procedure itself can lead into formation of a new keloid at the site of biopsy. All patients will be properly consented and informed about this particular risk as well as general risks of a skin and keloid tissue biopsy. This study is open now and accruing.