Skin cell analysis

The present invention describes an adhesive tape stripping transfer method for quick and non-invasive diagnosis of skin diseases by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry analysis. Cells from the epidermis layer of a suspicious skin area of a patient are collected using adhesive tapes via at least one application of tape stripping procedure. The adhesive tapes carrying collected skin cells are analyzed directly with MALDI-TOF MS without any sample pretreatment like cell lysis or preparatory cellular component extraction. Detection and diagnosis of human and mouse melanoma are illustrated as examples in the present invention.