Melanoma Skin Cancer
Melanoma Skin Cancer information including its Types, Stages, Signs, Symptoms and treatment.
Melanoma, or malignant melanoma/ cutaneous melanoma, is a form of skin cancer that occurs on any part of the body. Melanoma develops when melanocytes cells, which are responsible for the tan or the brown color of our skin, becoming malignant and starts to divide in an abnormal manner.
It may occur at any part of the skin; however, it usually begins at the chest and back if the man and the legs if the woman. Other areas affected are the face and the neck. It may also affect the eyes, mouth, anus, and genitals, but the incidences of melanomas in these areas are far less than on the skin. Likewise, people with darker skin tone have a lower risk to give way to melanoma.
While it is rarer than other skin cancer types, it is much more dangerous because if this particular type spreads to other sites in the body, it will do so rapidly, if not diagnosed early.
This resource, Yashoda Hospital & Research Centre, located in Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad, is dedicated to providing needful information that will make you aware about the types of melanoma, the risks associated with it as well as its signs and symptoms, how it can be diagnosed as well as the stages and available treatment.
Melanoma Skin Cancer Types
Melanoma can be of 4 subtypes
SSM refers to the superficial spreading melanoma.
The most common type of Melanoma that popularly develops on the trunk or limbs is this type. Here, the cells are slow growing at the beginning but as soon as it moves to the outer layer of the skin, it begins to grow at an alarming rate.
Nodular Melanoma
It is the most invasive melanoma typified by red or blue-black colors; in most cases, it is Fast-growing melanoma. It is the second most frequent type of melanoma that can be seen in the torso, head or neck.
Lentigo Maligna Melanoma
It is most common where parts of the body that have been over exposed to the sun for many years are affected, say the face. This is more common with the elderly and is a rare type. It may be represented as a macule or lesion on the skin referred to as Hutchinson’s freckle or lentigo maligna. Overall, it is less dangerous than other types, and the progression rate of this illness is usually slow.
Acral Lentiginous Melanoma
It may develop on the soles of feet, palms of hands or beneath the nails and is the rarest type of melanoma.
While other subtypes of melanoma do not arise in people of dark skin typically, acral lentiginous melanoma is the most frequent in individuals with darker skin tones.
Stages and Grades of Melanoma
Doctors can use the system of TNM to evaluate the stage of cancer. In TNM structure, T is the thickness of the original tumor including whether it has ulcerated or not; N is cancer which has spread beyond the original tumor to the nearby lymph nodes; M is cancer that has spread to other organs such as lungs or brain or to other distant lymph nodes.
After that, TNM system will be categorized and then identified by the doctors as to which stage of cancer exits.
Early-Stage Melanoma
Stage 0- This is also referred to as melanoma in situ as the cell change has not yet penetrated deeper into the skin.
Stage I- At this stage, cancer has invaded into the next layer of the skin from the outermost layer and the tumour is less than or equal to 1mm in Breslow depth. While cancer in this stage could have been ulcerated it could also be that it was non ulcerated.
Melanoma with Intermediate or High Risk
Stage II- Tumors at this stage extend deeper than 1mm into the skin but the tumor may not be ulcerated. It may also spread to other parts and thus doctors may advise you undergo a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) to check if melanoma has spread to the area.
Advanced Melanoma
Stage III- In this stage, the cancer has progressed to the lymph nodes in the area around the tumor . It is often spread to regional lymph nodes but extends to the extra lymphatic tissue more than 2 cm away from the primary tumor.
Stage IV– At this point, cancer spreads to nodes, brain, lungs, liver, bones and the gastrointestinal tract. To diagnose the stage and progression of the melanoma, the doctors may look at the site of the distant tumor or look into whether the serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) has risen. (LDH is an enzyme that catalyses sugar into energy but a high level of this enzyme is dangerous if it is present abundantly in blood or body fluids.)
Melanoma Skin Cancer Melanoma Skin Cancer Symptoms of Melanoma Skin Cancer Moles Warning Signs of Melanoma Skin Cancer Warning Signs of Melanoma Skin Cancer853733
This is because the initial manifestation of melanoma can indeed be any new spot on the body For this reason any new gross irregular, comer or a change in size or color of a mole is likely to be the most important warning signal of melanoma. However, if a spot appears dissimilar to any other spots on your body, known as ugly duckling sign, see a dermatologist.
You may also practice ABCDE rule which assist in informing you about melanoma signals. The ABCDE rule is described as follows:
A for Asymmetry: Skin lesions different from the spots or moles seen on the body.
B for Border: The outer part of the spot or mole is uneven, rough and imprecise.
C for Color: This spot should consist of different patches of red, blue or pink and or white and may have brown or black to it at times.
D for Diameter: Any new spot bigger than 6 millimeters in diameter (or size of a pencil eraser) should also alert you as the warning sign of developing melanoma.
E for Evolving: The onset of a new symptom associated with the spot or the mole including change in size, shape and colour.
If there is any doubt about a mole, you had better see your dermatologist as the distinction between melanoma and a regular mole may be quite slim.
Causes of Melanoma Skin Cancer
There are several relevant conditions or entities that can cause an enhanced probability of melanoma skin cancer. Some of them are as follows:
Unreasonable sunbathing, which causes skin pigmentation changes and formation of freckles.
People with many moles or people with many weird moles on their skin.
This we refer to as age spot or liver spots or actinic lentigines.
Large brown colored skin marking at the birth place referred to as Congenital melanocytic nevi.
People with lighter coloured eyes and light or red hair.
Intermittent and acute sun exposure which is likely to lead to sunburns is also another factor.
Organ transplant in the past.
If there is any family or personal history of melanoma; that is skin cancer with malignant cells.
Here are 3 places that you can get to if need to see a dermatologist in Delhi NCR.
Yashoda Hospital & Research Centre, Nehru Nagar, Ghaziabad gives you the best in technology based medical services. Our consultants are highly skilled and we have a team of intelligent economists who earter have years of practical experience in the international fields. Dr. Yashoda’s senior dermatologist and venereologist, Rajeev Jain has over 18 years of practice in treating various skin disorders and diseases. Dr. Mr. Anup Kumar Tiwary is very efficient and experienced consultant practicing in the domain of Dermatology and Cosmetology. He masters the more cosmetic procedures than any other doctor including the PRP therapy, botulinum toxins and lasers used for skin and hair issues like mole and scar treatment and removal.
Diagnostic Procedures
The tests and procedures that are used to diagnose melanoma at Yashoda Superspeciality Hospital & Cancer Institute, Sanjay Nagar, Ghaziabad are illustrated as below:
Physical examination– This to check your skin to see if there is any sign that may be a symptom of melanoma. Believe it or not, your doctor may ask you about your health history.
In checking if a growth on the skin is a melanoma, the doctor may decide to take part of the lesion as a biopsy.
Once you are diagnosed of melanoma, the doctor will assess to what degree melanoma has gone in the body. This is known in the process as staging. The amount of cancer present in the body as well as how much threat it poses is often defined by the stage of cancer.
Treatments for Melanoma skin cancer & its subgroup
The size and stage of melanoma skin cancer, your general health and your preferences will decide which form of treatment will be most effective. The team of oncologists at Superspeciality Hospital & Cancer Institute, Sanjay Nagar, Ghaziabad formerly trained in Army & Tata Memorial equipped with technologically advanced equipments and newly developed techniques treat Melanoma Skin Cancer.
Management of Digital Melanoma
Melanoma that has not progressed is treated by surgical intervention where the doctor will remove the cancer and an additional amount of normal skin up to the layer of tissue beneath the skin. The surgeon may also shave off a very thin melanoma in its entirety in the biopsy process after which the patient may not need any more treatment.
Treatment of the lung Metastases in People with Melanoma
Surgery– Any melanoma that has reached advanced stage where it is found in the lymph nodes necessitates removal of the nodes. The surgeon may also advise other complementary treatment procedures that may be required before, during or after the operation.
Immunotherapy– It is treated developed to increase the immunological response of the patient to fight off cancer cells. It may be given directly into the melanoma area if the cancer cannot be removed in its entirety by surgery. That is why this therapy is usually advised after surgery, where the melanoma has spread to the nearby lymph nodes or other parts of the body.
Targeted Therapy– In this treatment, the drug is introduced to attach itself to specific flaws found within the cancerous cell making them disintegrate. Commonly biopsies might be made on the cells got from your melanoma to dictate the effectiveness of the targeted therapy to the cancer you have.
The forms are Radiation therapy- here, high energy beams are aimed at the affected cancer cells with an intention of destroying them. This therapy may prove useful in treating those melanomas that do not lend themselves to radical excision. It also assists in the reduction of signs if the melanoma has affected other areas of the body.
Chemotherapy- It is a treatment where a drug is utilized to kill cancerous cells. This drug goes all over the body and as such, can be administered intravenously or in pill or both. Chemotherapy may also be also administered in a process called isolated limb perfusion or in this method it may be administered in a vein of the arm or the legs. In this process, the blood in an arm or leg is allowed to flow to other parts of your body for a short duration to allow the chemotherapeutic agent to get directly to the part with melanoma without having an effect on other structures of the body.
