Melanoma
What is Melanoma?
Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer characterized by uncontrolled growth of the melanocytes (melanin-producing cells) that determine skin pigmentation. Melanoma is a malignant tumor that usually occurs in the areas of skin exposed to sunlight and spreads to other parts of the body. This condition is more serious than other types of skin cancer and can even result in death if not treated early.
Causes of Melanoma
The exact cause of melanoma is unclear; however, exposure to ultraviolet radiation is one of the primary risk factors that damage the DNA and causes uncontrolled division of the cells leading to the development of a tumor or self-destruction of the cells. Some of the other common risk factors of melanoma include:
- Hereditary conditions
- History of tanning and sunburns
- Immunocompromised persons
- Increased body weight
- Previous history of skin cancer
- Irregular moles
- Age
- Fair skin
Types of Melanoma
The four important types of melanoma include:
- Superficial spreading melanoma: This is the most common type of melanoma. The tumor appears flat or slightly raised on the skin. It grows slowly during the initial stages of the disease. The moles are often brown, red, or blue and asymmetrical with uneven borders.
- Nodular melanoma: This is the second most common type of melanoma that grows faster and into the deeper layers of the skin. This appears as a lump with black and red pigmentation.
- Lentigo maligna melanoma: This type of melanoma appears as slightly raised patches with uneven borders. It is usually present in the sun-exposed areas of the body and has a blue-black or brown color.
- Acral lentiginous melanoma: This is the rarest form of melanoma that is present in people with dark skin types. This appears under the nails, feet soles, and palms.
Symptoms of Melanoma
Some of the common symptoms of melanoma include:
- Change in size, shape, and texture of existing moles
- Dark spots in the eye
- Tenderness and pain in the moles
- Swelling near the spots
- Skin sores that fail to heal
Identifying unusual moles that might be melanoma can be done by looking for the ABCDEcharacteristics which is a synonym that stands for:
- Asymmetry: The cancerous moles are asymmetrical.
- Border: The edges of the melanoma are blurred, torn, or uneven.
- Color: The color of the mole may vary and can be tan, black, or brown.
- Diameter: The size of the melanoma will be smaller when detected in the early stages, and the size increases to larger than six millimeters in diameter in later stages.
- Evolving: The size, shape, and appearance of the mole continue to change or evolve over time.
Diagnosis of Melanoma
Diagnosis of melanoma will involve the following:
- Physical examination: Your doctor will examine your medical history and based on this a physical examination of the moles will be performed and your doctor will also check for the presence of enlarged lymph nodes.
- Blood test: Blood tests are performed to look for certain substances in the blood that can indicate the presence of cancer.
- Chest x-rays: Chest radiography is performed to detect if the tumor has spread in the chest cavity.
- Skin biopsy: A small sample of the skin tissue or cells is taken and observed under the microscope.
- Ultrasound: This test produces images of the lymph nodes and soft tissues using sound waves of high frequency.
- CT Scan: This scan uses multiple x-rays to produce detailed cross-sectional images of the body and to measure the size of the tumor.
- Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan: This involves injecting a small amount of radioactive sugar that is absorbed by high energy-consuming cancer cells. This helps to detect the cancerous cells.
Treatment for Melanoma
Treatment for melanoma may vary based on the type and severity of the condition, this includes:
- Immunotherapy (biologic therapy): This treatment method helps to strengthen your immune system so that your body can destroy the cancer cells.
- Chemotherapy: In this therapy, cancerous cells are destroyed using medications that are most commonly provided through injections. Chemotherapy may be administered after surgery or as the main treatment depending on the severity of cancer.
- Radiation Therapy: High-energy radiations are used to destroy cancer cells. Radiation may be performed after surgery to destroy any remaining cancer cells or as the main treatment if the cancer is extensive.
- Targeted Therapy: In this method, certain drugs are used to destroy specific cancer cells.
- Melanoma surgery: A small incision will be made on the affected area to remove the melanoma completely along with a margin of the surrounding normal tissue to reduce the risk of the spread of cancer.
- Lymphadenectomy: This involves complete removal of the affected lymph nodes to which the melanoma has spread.
- Metastasectomy: This is used to remove secondary cancerous growths of the melanoma that may have spread from the primary tumor.
Prevention for Melanoma
Melanoma cannot be always prevented, but its risk can be reduced by the following methods:
- Avoid excessive sun exposure
- Use SPF 30+ sunscreen (broad-spectrum) daily
- Avoid sunbeds and sunlamps
- Get suspicious lesions evaluated early
- Wear sunglasses, hats, or clothes with long sleeves to protect from the sun
