Full Skin Exam By Dr. Ben Behnam

A full skin check is typically performed once or twice a year. The purpose of a skin check is to examine the entire surface of the skin in order to make sure that there are no suspicious moles or any lesion that looks suspicious for skin cancer. Dr. Behnam performs a thorough skin check under a magnifier, examining every inch of the body in his Dermatology Center in Santa Monica. Dr. Behnam specializes in performing a full thorough, 10-point skin exam.

1. Scalp
2. Entire face, including mouth, nostrils, eyeball
3. Neck
4. Chest
5. Abdomen
6. Armpits
7. Back
8. Arms, forearms, palms, fingernails, webs between fingers
9. Thighs, legs, feet, toenails, web between toes
10. Buttocks and groin area

If any lesion looks suspicious for skin cancer, then the area is either documented to be watched or biopsied. A biopsy is a sampling of a mole or a suspicious growth. It is send to the lab, where the dermatopathologist examines the slide and sends a thorough report to Dr. Behnam.

Meet Dr. Behnam

Dr. Behnam focuses on the health and wellness of your skin, hair and nails. The skin is the largest and most exposed organ of the body.

Schedule an appointment to see Dr. Behnam to diagnose and treat any skin problems. Dr. Behnam is very proactive in providing early diagnosis and treatment for skin cancer. Early treatment saves lives.

Cosmetic removal of skin tags, warts and moles can be done during an office visit. Dr. Behnam also provides biopsies for moles that are discolored or show other signs of abnormality.

Acne is a condition dreaded by all teenagers. This problem can follow an individual well into adulthood. The longer a persistent condition goes untreated, the worse the emotional and physical scarring will be.

Dr. Behnam will take his time to discuss any skin problems and help educate the patient in proper protection against poor diet, aging and sun damage.

An innovator, Dr. Ben Behnam MD, U.S. Leading Dermatologist, is a board certified dermatologist recognized nationally by Newsweek as one of the top 10 Physicians and Surgeons in the US, with appearances on The Doctors Show, FOX Good Day LA and ABC News.

Dr. Behnam is committed to early detection and prevention of skin cancers and specializes in skin cancer screening, mole check and skin cancer removal, including Mohs Micrographic Surgery. He uses the most advance technology, the dermatoscope, for better evaluation and identification of moles. Dr. Behnam has been involved in clinical trials and has been widely published in journals such as the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology, Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, Cutis, Expert Opinion in Pharmacotherapy and others.

Dr. Behnam graduated Summa Cum Laude from UCLA. He attended UC Irvine School of Medicine, which he graduated top of his class with an AOA distinction. He did his dermatology training under the renowned and prominent cosmetic and Mohs surgeon Dr. Christopher Zachary at UC Irvine School of Medicine. He had the distinction of being the Chief Resident in his senior year. During residency, he was among few in the country to be awarded the Skin Disease Education Foundation Resident Award.

With his own proprietary chilling technology that allows pain free laser scar and wrinkle removal, Dr. Behnam is world reknown laser and skin cancer specialist. He is an expert in cosmetic procedures, contouring and sculpting the face with the combination use of Botox, Dysport, Juvederm, Restylane and Radiesse. He specializes in Laser resurfacing of the face. Dr. Behnam has been involved in clinical trials and has been widely published in journals such as the Journal of American Academy of Dermatology, Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, Cutis, Expert Opinion in Pharmacotherapy and others.

He has been awarded the Skin Disease Education Foundation Resident Award. He was also one of the primary investigators in an IRB approved clinical trials investigating the use of phototherapy in preventing radiation dermatitis in patients who were undergoing radiation therapy for breast cancer.

Diplomat, American Board of Dermatology

Fellow, American Academy of Dermatology

Fellow, American Society for Dermatological Surgery

Other News

Scientists Discover How Deadly Skin Cancer Spreads Into Other Parts Of The Body 

After recently announcing success in eliminating melanoma metastasis in laboratory experiments, scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have made another important discovery in understanding the process by which the gene mda-9/syntenin contributes to metastasis in melanoma (the spread of skin cancer) and possibly a variety of other cancers. 

Published in the journal Cancer Research, the study demonstrated that mda-9/syntenin is a key regulator of angiogenesis, the process responsible for the formation of new blood vessels in tumors. Mda-9/syntenin was originally cloned in the laboratory of the study's lead author Paul B. Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D., Thelma Newmeyer Corman Endowed Chair in Cancer Research and program co-leader of Cancer Molecular Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center, chairman of VCU's Department of Human and Molecular Genetics and director of the VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine. 

"Our research brings us one step closer to understanding precisely how metastatic melanoma, a highly aggressive and therapy-resistant cancer, spreads throughout the body," says Fisher. "Additionally, analysis of the human genome has indicated that mda-9/syntenin is elevated in the majority of cancers, which means novel drugs that target this gene could potentially be applicable to a broad spectrum of other deadly cancers." 

Fisher's team discovered that mda-9/syntenin regulates the expression of several proteins responsible for promoting angiogenesis, including insulin growth factor binding protein-2 (IGFBP-2) and interleukin-8 (IL-8). The study is the first to provide proof of the pro-angiogenic functions of IGFBP-2 in human melanoma. 

In in vivo and in vitro experiments, the scientists confirmed that mda-9/syntenin binds with the extracellular matrix (ECM) to start a series of biological processes that eventually cause endothelial cells to secrete IGFBP-2. The ECM is the substance that cells secrete and in which they are embedded. Endothelial cells are the cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels throughout the entire circulatory system. The secretion of IGFBP-2, in turn, caused the endothelial cells to produce and secrete vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A), a protein that mediates the development of and formation of new blood vessels. 

The researchers also noted that IGFBP-2 could potentially serve as a novel biomarker to monitor for disease progression in melanoma patients. 

"This is a major breakthrough in understanding angiogenesis and its impact in melanoma metastasis," says Fisher. "We are now focusing on developing novel small molecules that specifically target mda-9/syntenin and IGFBP-2, which could be used as drugs to treat melanoma and potentially many other cancers."