Diagnosis of melanoma requires detailed analysis of specialist

The suspicion that an injury is melanoma occurs through the clinical analysis of the lesion. Using the ABCD rule to help close the diagnosis. In general, the pint must have some of these four characteristics to be suspect:

A- Asymmetrical

B- Irregular edges

C- Varied coloring

D- Diameter of two or more centimeters


In addition, important information about the appearance of the lesion and data on the health and family of the affected individual are also important. When someone in the family already has or had melanoma is information that weighs heavily for the risk of the patient. A person who has had or whose mother or close relative has ever had melanoma is a person whose risk is greatly increased.

Injuries that repeatedly increase, darken, change color, inflame, ulcerate, bleed or show any abrupt changes, are also significant data to diagnose melanoma.

Lighter people with light eyes, light hair, and skin cancer in the family who have had frequent and severe sunburns should be alert and seek medical and specialized help in the early diagnosis of the lesion.

The definitive diagnosis of melanoma is closed by biopsy or histopathological examination of the lesion, which is through visualization of the malignant cells. The examination should describe the cells and, moreover, give information about the depth of the lesion.

The dermoscopy examination also helps in the diagnosis, it can provide more data regarding the lesion that will compose information for the final result. This exam is done with a device called the dermatoscope, which is a normal device with a special lens that improves the visualization of the lesion. The dermatologist is trained to recognize these signs and make a more accurate diagnosis.

Asymmetric lesions with irregular border, varying colors and more than 0.6 cm, are more suspect and will guide the histopathological examination.

Melanoma can be amelanotic, which means that it is colorless and can be mistaken for other skin tumors, such as basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. It can be confused with basal cell carcinoma when it is pigmented and with other tumors, such as sarcomas, such as Kaposi's sarcoma and also with pre-malignant lesions, such as dysplastic nevi, which are spots with suspicious but non-melanoma signs.

Melanoma is the most serious of cutaneous cancers and that when diagnosed early it can be removed with great chances of total cure. However, when it is not withdrawn in time to avoid metastasis leads to various compromises, including death.