Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that forms from skin cells called melanocytes, which give the skin its pigment. This type of skin cancer can also be referred to as malignant melanoma and is the most dangerous type of cancer, with a mortality rate of around 20% if the cancer is not detected.
What causes melanoma?
Melanoma is usually caused by overexposure to the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. It is more common in older people due to the cumulative effect of years of sun exposure, and is especially common in areas of the body that are most exposed to the sun, such as the face, back of the neck, hands and arms.
For this reason, melanoma is also more common in people with a fair complexion and in people who have suffered sunburns as children.
There is a myth that people with darker skin are not affected by the sun’s rays, but they are also at risk if they do not protect themselves from the sun. In people with light skin complexion melanoma often develops in areas that receive a lot of sun exposure, in darker skin types it develops more frequently on the soles of the feet, palms of the hands and nails, and can go unnoticed.
Melanoma is usually due to overexposure to the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.
Melanoma can also have a genetic factor, about 5% of melanoma cases are believed to be genetically transmitted.
What are the symptoms of melanoma?
Melanomas are often detected by patients, rather than diagnosed by a physician. A mole shows signs of melanoma when it changes shape or size, or when the outline border changes and becomes blurred.
Another symptom to watch for is when a new mole or a pigmented section of skin appears where there was nothing before.
The fundamental thing is to check the mole, and to be able to detect the signs of melanoma the ABCDE acronym is used, each letter defines the characteristics of a melanoma:
- A- Asymmetry: a mole is asymmetrical when one half is different from the other.
- B- The border of the mole is irregular or poorly defined.
- C- The color of the mole changes or the shades vary from one area to another.
- D- Diameter, when the size changes or when a mole measures more than 6 millimeters in diameter.
- E- Evolution, if the mole over time changes shape, size or color and develops other symptoms such as itching or bleeding.
Treatments for melanoma
Treatment for melanoma depends on the type of melanoma it is, its severity, its location on the body and whether the cancer has spread to other areas of the body.
Some of the available options your doctor may consider is surgery, and there are different methods available to remove the melanoma.
If the cancer does spread, radiation therapy may be considered, or the best option may be to opt for the use of a melanoma vaccine, which aims to kill the cells using the body’s defense mechanisms. This type of treatment is still under development.