Malignant+Melanoma

//Western Diagnosis// malignant melanocytic tumor arising in a pigmented area 50% from pigmented nevi (moles); 50% from normal skin

Signs & Symptoms
1. maculopapular lesion 2. irregular, raised, indurated edges 3. red, white, blue, brown or black spots or nodules in it 4. if pigmented nevus; change in size, color, characteristics, shape 5. more on women’s legs and men’s torsos

Diagnosis
1. excisional biopsy if small 2. incisional biopsy if large 3. early dx possible if biopsy lesions with: variegated colors, irregular elevations, irregular borders 4. always biopsy if: recent enlargement, darkening, bleeding, ulceration ---indicates however that lesion has already invaded deeper

Prognosis
1. if superficial lesion, 100% cure 2. if not, likelihood that there has been metastasis increases greatly ---very aggressive tumors 3. thickness of tumor at dx is most important factor in determining survival rate

Treatment
1. excision 2. chemo, radiation not successful but new methods being tried including interferon

ABCDE's of melanoma:
A: Asymmetrical B: Border - change shapes C: Color - change colors D: Diameter - changes size, growing E: Evolving

depth of growth beyond 4mm. makes any positive treatment very unlikely