How to spot bad mole? by Aleksandr Kavokin, MD/PhD

Besides ABCD there could be other signs of dangerous mole:

E - enlargement and elevation over the time

Also worrisome signs include easy bleeding and erythema (redness) around the mole.

Itching and pain in the side of mole make you suspicious as well.

History of melanoma in Family should also raise suspicions.

Some skin problems look like melanoma, but are actually harmless. Anyway, do not gamble with them. Even experienced physician can not always tell if the lesion is malignant or not. It is better to be safe then sorry and check the troubling changes soon.

Some rare types of melanoma exist. Because even obvious melanomas are not always diagnosed on time, the unusual types becomes much more deadlier. Often doctor sees them too late.

Melanoma under the nails. Melanoma of mucous membranes. (Mouth, nose or guts) Amelanotic melanoma - this one is not even colored.

The treatment will be excision with margins and biopsy, but most important of course is to catch melanoma Know that the treatment depends on the thickness of the tumor and the presence of distant metastasis.

Surgeon or dermatologist cuts off the melanoma. Then, Pathologist (doctor specializing in lab diagnostics) looks the sample under microscope.

He classifies the tumor. The grade of the tumor gives the clue to the chances of your survival.

There are several classifications

Breslow classification measure the penetration of the lesion into skin by millimeters. Know that > 0.75 mm is already dangerous, but > 4 mm is wacking.

What is 4 mm. It is nothing. Right? Take a ruler and check how 1 mm looks and how 4 mm looks.

So this is why it is important to catch melanoma early.

There is also Clarks classification that measures penetration of the melanoma into the skin and other layers.

TNM classification standardizes the grading.

You can not know the grade unless you excise and measure the melanoma penetration under microscope. It is not a do-it-yourself project. Surgeon and pathologist will do it.

The time of evolvement 1-2 years.

The frequency of melanoma is increasing. It might be because of more people get sun damage. Also other reasons may play role.

Treatment of melanoma includes surgical removal, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy.

Keywords: Melanoma, mole, nevus, dermatology, pathology, surgeon

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BIO:

Aleksandr Kavokin MD/PhD, Phila
http://www.kavokin.com
Aleksandr Kavokin, MD1994 Russia,PhD1997 Russia - Immunology and Allergy, postdoc at Cancer Center at Med U of South Carolina, postdoc at Yale - Cardiology, Molecular Medicine. http://www.kavokin.com http://www.kavokin.uni.cc http://www.geocities.com/aging_rejuvenation/ http://www.appendicitis.uni.cc/ http://www.geocities.com/appendicitis_disease/

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