Melanoma
is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin. They predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body, including the bowel and the eye (see uveal melanoma). Melanoma can occur in any part of the body that contains melanocytes.
Melanoma is less common than other skin cancers. However, it is much more dangerous and causes the majority (75%) of deaths related to skin cancer.Worldwide, doctors diagnose about 160,000 new cases of melanoma yearly. The diagnosis is more frequent in women than in men and is particularly common among Caucasians living in sunny climates, with high rates of incidence in Australia, New Zealand, North America, and northern Europe. According to a WHO report about 48,000 melanoma related deaths occur worldwide per year.
The treatment includes surgical removal of the tumor, adjuvant treatment, chemo- and immunotherapy, or radiation therapy. The chance of a cure is greatest when the tumor is discovered while it is still small and thin, and can be entirely removed surgically.
Signs and symptoms
Early signs of melanoma are changes to the shape or color of existing moles or in the case of nodular melanoma the appearance of a new lump anywhere on the skin (such lesions should be referred without delay to a dermatologist). At later stages, the mole may itch, ulcerate or bleed.[4] Early signs of melanoma are summarized by the mnemonic "ABCDE":
Asymmetry
Borders (irregular)
Color (variegated), and
Diameter (greater than 6 mm (0.24 in), about the size of a pencil eraser)
Evolving over time
These classifications do not however apply to the most dangerous form of melanoma nodular melanoma which has its own classifications:
Elevated above the skin surface
Firm to the touch
Growing.
Metastatic melanoma may cause non-specific paraneoplastic symptoms including loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and fatigue. Metastasis of early melanoma is possible, but relatively rare: less than a fifth of melanomas diagnosed early become metastatic. Brain metastases are particularly common in patients with metastatic melanoma.
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