Editorial A Risk Prediction Tool for Melanoma?

By any definition, the measure of successful translation of knowledge gained through epidemiologic research must be the impact of such activity on improving human health. This journal has set itself the well-considered goal of disseminating high-quality research findings from diverse fields of scientific inquiry linked by a thread that runs from biology to prevention. But how might this knowledge be best used and are there practical ways in which it can contribute to cancer control? Successful translation of knowledge to practice is achievable. This is well demonstrated in other disciplines of preventive medicine and so we can turn to them to see examples of how our own field could evolve in the years ahead. Cardiovascular researchers have long known that blood pressure, lipids, diabetes, family history, and smoking all have demonstrable effects on determining a person’s risk of suffering disease. B