Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer. It involves the cells that produce the skin pigment melanin. Melanin is responsible for skin and hair color. Melanoma can also involve the colored part of the eye. (See also skin cancer and melanoma of the eye.)

A malignant melanoma is just one type of skin cancer. Compared to other forms of skin cancer, a malignant melanoma has a high risk of spreading to other parts of the body so you should get any unusual changes in your skin checked by your GP as early as possible.

Types of Melanoma

Nodular melanoma occurs most often on the chest or back. It is most commonly found in middle-aged people. It tends to grow deeper into the skin quite quickly if it is not removed. This type of melanoma is often raised above the rest of the skin surface and feels like a bump. It may be very dark brown-black or black.

Superficial, spreading or flat: grows outwards at first to form an irregular

pattern on the skin with an uneven colour

Lentigo maligna melanoma usually occurs in the elderly. It is most common in sun-damaged skin on the face, neck, and arms. The abnormal skin areas are usually large, flat, and tan with intermixed areas of brown.

Acral melanoma is usually found on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet or around the toenails.

Causes

It is not certain how all cases of melanoma develop. However, it is clear that excessive sun exposure, especially severe blistering sunburns early in life, can promote melanoma development. There is evidence that ultraviolet radiation used in indoor tanning equipment may cause melanoma. The risk for developing melanoma may also be inherited.

Symptoms

The first sign of melanoma is often a change in the size, shape, color, or feel of a mole on the skin. These changes can be remembered as “ABCD”:

Asymmetry – An odd shape or one half is shaped differently from the other

Border – ragged, notched, blurred, or irregular outline

Color – different shades of black, brown, and tan in the same mole; there may also be patches of white, gray, red, pink, or blue in it

Can melanomas spread?

Yes. At the start, a melanoma is thin and lies on the surface of the skin. It can be easily removed at this stage. However, if it’s left to become thick, it grows down into the skin and spreads.

How is it treated?

Treatment for melanoma begins with the surgical removal of the melanoma and some normal-looking skin around the growth. Removal of the normal-looking skin is known as taking margins, and is done to be sure no melanoma is left behind. Early melanoma limited to the outermost layer of the skin (the epidermis) is known as melanoma in situ (in place), and simple surgical removal produces virtually a 100 percent cure rate. If left untreated, the melanoma grows deeper in the skin and is more likely to produce a life-threatening situation.

Chemotherapy – to kill cancer cells that have spread throughout the body

Immunotherapy – interferon-alfa and interleukin-2 may be given to help the body’s immune system prevent a recurrence of the melanoma.

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Moles are pigmented spots on the skin containing the skin pigment melanin, they can be beneath the skin (sub dermal) or raised. There are many types of moles ranging from benign, to suspicious, to malignant lesions.

People mistakenly refer to many other lesions on the skin as to moles. These can be small cysts, fibromas, angiomas, age spots, cholesterol deposits and largeish warts. They can vary in colour from flesh coloured, yellow, red, blue or dark brown.

National campaigns are frequently run to make the public aware of skin cancer. Simple precautions are advised such as: to avoid prolonged sun exposure by using sun block regularly and to wear appropriate clothing.

You are advised to seek a medical opinion if your mole/skin lesion develops suspicious characteristics such as: increasing in size, become darker, itches, bleeds, develops irregular edges or becomes raised.

Thankfully most lesions that people present with are benign and amenable to quick mole removal.

Where should you seek treatment for mole removal?

The first port of call should be to your General Practitioner; large numbers of doctors perform minor surgery and will skillfully remove the lesion. If they think the lesion is suspicious they will refer you to the local dermatologist or suspicious mole clinic at the local hospital.

Recently some primary care trusts in the country have made a dictat; if mole removal is requested for cosmetic reasons, then this should not be made available on the NHS, the General Practitioner then has every right to decline treatment.

The option then left for mole removal for whatever reasons is to turn to your local cosmetic clinic.

Leading cosmetic clinics use a wide variety of techniques for mole removal; the most popular are Electrocautery, Laser and Radiofrequency. These will be briefly discussed.

Electrocautery involves as the name suggests cauterization using a probe which is heated by a D.C Electric current. The temperature of the probe is high and the resulting thermal damage to the sun can leave a scar. Never Electrocautery machines have variable power settings, so scans can be mitigated.

Radiofrequency uses radiosurgery probes which vapourise the moles, the advantage using this methos is that the resulted thermal damage to the skin is less leaving negligible scarring and instant results.

Lasers are excellent for removal curtain says lesions such as angionanas, giving excellent single treatment results and negligible scarring.

In conclusion; depending on the treatment methods despite the prices between cosmetic clinics can range from

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