Melanoma is a cancer of the pigment cells of the skin. Normally these cells give us our skin colour, or clump together to form moles.
Most moles are benign, but features suspicious for melanoma include:
A biopsy needs to be taken to make a diagnosis of melanoma.
The outlook for melanoma depends on how advanced the disease is at diagnosis. The main indicator is its thickness. When it is less than 1 mm thick, the chances of cure is high. As the thickness progresses, however, the prognosis is poorer.
Melanoma can spread to lymph nodes in the neck, armpit or groin. For thicker melanomas, chest xray, CT, MRI or PET scan are requested to check for spread.
Treatment
The first treatment for melanoma is to remove a larger piece of tissue from around the biopsy site to remove any microscopic deposits. In many cases, a simple straight scar will be left, but sometimes a skin graft or flap is required.
When the melanoma is thicker than 1 mm, a ‘sentinel node biopsy’ may be performed. This technique uses a combination of radiation and dye to locate the first lymph node that drains the area of the melanoma. This node is examined to determine if there is early spread to the lymph nodes. Further surgery may be required to remove all the glands in that area.
Despite extensive research into the treatment of melanoma, surgery remains the principal treatment. When required, Dr Moko will refer you to a medical cancer specialist (oncologist) to discuss other options.
