The diagnosis of melanoma often sounds like a sentence, frightening not only the patient himself, but also his family. It is no secret that the predisposition to the development of this type of malignant tumors is hereditary.
The success of the treatment of the named disease (as well as many others) strongly depends on at what stage of the development of the disease the diagnosis was made. So, each of us needs to clearly imagine how to recognize melanoma at the initial stage in order to prevent its dangerous growth.
What is melanoma?
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer. She is considered the most aggressive, since she is actively metastasizing to all organs of the person with lymphatic current. Moreover, the process can develop quite rapidly, literally in a matter of days, and even a minor injury can provoke it.
Melanoma is formed from skin pigment producing melanin cells called melanocytes. It is diagnosed in 4% of cancer patients, but it is, perhaps, the only tumor, the development of which can be noticed already at an early stage.
By the way, thinking about how to recognize melanoma (the photo of which you can see in this article), remember that in only 30% of cases these neoplasms begin their development from existing moles (nevi). And in 70% it appears on the spot in the skin where there were no spots. Also, be aware that melanoma can occur on the mucous membrane and even under the nails.
Factors that can trigger the development of melanoma
Speaking about how to recognize melanoma and what it is, first of all, it should be said that it is either a nodule, or a spot that has a dark color (although there are also pigmentless types) and an irregular shape.
The risk factors that can spur or provoke the development of melanoma include the following:
- the effect on the skin of ultraviolet radiation (this applies both to sunlight and to artificial sources - tanning beds or bactericidal lamps);
- previous precedents for the occurrence of melanoma, both in the patient himself and in his close relatives;
- the presence on the human body of a large number of moles (we are talking about fifty or more);
- female;
- advanced age (although young people also have melanomas);
- white skin, red hair and a large number of rapidly appearing freckles.
The first signs of melanoma
Additional signs that tell you how to recognize melanoma will be changes that occur with a mole. If the nevus condenses, rising above the skin, increases in size and at the same time changes pigmentation, then it should be shown to a dermatologist.
Particularly obvious signs of a dangerous situation are redness of the tissues around the nevus, the occurrence of cracks on it, sores, covered with a crust, and bleeding. In such cases, the mole is troubling - it itches or burns. In this case, the patient may increase lymph nodes.
How melanoma grows
Most often, melanoma develops on the lower extremities, on the trunk and arms, only in 10% of patients it can occur on the head or neck.
The described tumor, as a rule, grows in three directions - into the deep layers of the skin, along its surface or through the skin into nearby tissues. By the way, the deeper the tumor spreads, the worse the prognosis of specialists.
Answering questions about how to recognize melanoma and how it manifests itself, oncologists note its rapid metastasis and damage to nearby lymph nodes. It spreads not only through the skin, but also through the hematogenous or, as already mentioned, lymphogenous route. By the way, hematogenous metastases have the ability to penetrate into any organ, but most often they affect the kidneys, adrenal glands, liver, brain and lungs.
Metastases on the skin look like a kind of small rashes that slightly rise above it and have a brown or black color.
How to recognize melanoma: signs and symptoms of the disease
The first sign that a person develops melanoma on the site of a mole, as a rule, are changes that suddenly begin in it. Take a closer look at your birthmarks.
- Ordinary moles are always symmetrical. If a line is drawn mentally through their middle, then both halves of a normal mole will completely coincide in shape and size. Any violation of this symmetry should raise your suspicion.
- Pay attention to the borders of the mole. If they are uneven, blurry, fuzzy, then it should be checked.
- The color change of your neoplasm should be alert too. If the mole is painted in more than one color or has several shades - check it.
- Symptoms of melanoma include an increase in the size of the birthmark. Even if your spot does not have other deviations (even color, clear borders, symmetrical shape), but at the same time it exceeds 6 mm in diameter (this is about the same as the elastic at the tip of a pencil) - this can be attributed to alarming symptoms.
From the above, we can make an unambiguous conclusion regarding how to recognize melanoma at an early stage. But you should remember that you do not need to wait for all of these symptoms - just one of them is enough for you to have a serious reason to contact a dermatologist.
Once again about whether to worry if a mole grows
All of the above signs of the development of the disease will surely make you look at your body with fear. But we also want to warn you that when thinking about how to recognize melanoma and not miss its symptoms, do not immediately begin to sound the alarm, barely noticing that the mole has increased. After all, the usual nevus can change, as we change with age. It can at first be flat, and then become convex - this is not scary. But if such changes occur, as they say, right in front of your eyes - it’s not worth pulling with a trip to the doctor.
By the way, the presence of hairs on a mole confirms that she is healthy!
Diagnosis of the disease
And yet, if you have doubts about the condition of your mole, do not guess how to recognize the melanoma yourself, but consult a doctor. He will clarify the symptoms, find out all risk factors, conduct an examination.
Due to the fact that, as mentioned earlier, melanoma is very aggressive, and even a small injury can provoke its development, the invasive method of examining it is highly undesirable (it means scraping or histology, when not all education is taken for analysis, but a small part of it ) Therefore, most often the doctor conducts an external examination of the nevus.
He will definitely check the condition of the lymph nodes under the armpits, on the neck and groin, and also conduct a radioisotope study in which phosphorus is used. By its increased accumulation in the tumor, the presence of melanoma is judged.
A cytological study is also used , in which, if there is ulceration on the suspected melanoma, an imprint is taken from the surface of the tumor and then sent for analysis.
Ultrasound of the internal organs, x-rays and tomography are also performed to determine the presence of metastases.
How is melanoma treated?
If the patient managed to consult an oncologist in time, then at an early stage of development, the melanoma is simply excised. Depending on how deep it penetrated, a small amount of healthy skin is removed. The doctor may also prescribe additional therapy in the form of drugs that will help reduce the likelihood of relapse.
If damage to the lymph nodes is suspected, then after a biopsy of one of them and a positive result, their removal is expected.
In the treatment of melanoma, the significant benefits of immunotherapy have been proven. This is a relatively new treatment method, which is carried out immediately after the operation to remove the tumor.
In the late stages of the development of the disease, they resort to radiation and chemotherapy, which, by the way, in the fourth stage of the development of a cancer tumor are ineffective, allowing it to be reduced only to some extent.
A few words in conclusion
In the article, we tried to talk in detail about how to recognize melanoma of the skin. The photos posted in it also probably helped you to navigate the situation.
But in the end I would like to add that it is not at all necessary, having discovered a birthmark of an unusual shape, immediately fall into despair. Not every mutated mole will turn out to be a cancerous growth, it can be both an atypical pigmented spot and a benign dysplastic nevus.
But still, the trip to the doctor should not be postponed, since in this case it is better to show excessive vigilance, which can subsequently save not only health but also life.