Narrator: When an irregularity in the skin thought to be a mole becomes cancerous, it may be diagnosed Melanoma. The severity of the cancer depends mainly on the thickness of the tumor.
Melanoma is generally divided into two categories. The first group includes cancers that have not spread beyond skin irregularities. Extensive surgical tumor resection is often used for these cancers and is usually effective. The tumor and surrounding large areas of normal skin are outlined by an oval border, which is then removed. Here, the normal tissue surrounding the tumor can be seen.
The second largest type of melanoma is those that grow beyond visible cancer. Growth deep into the skin may allow cancer cells to enter the small lymphatic vessels. There, they may migrate to distant locations on the body.
Cancer cells usually migrate to the draining lymph nodes. Melanoma cells may remain undetected in immune tissue for some time. If melanoma escapes the immune system’s defenses, it can spread to other parts of the body. An example of tumor spread to the lung is shown here.
from Mayo Clinic to your inbox
Register for free to stay up-to-date on research progress, health tips and current health topics such as COVID-19, and expertise in managing health.
In order to provide you with the most relevant and useful information, and to understand what information is useful, we may share your email and website usage information with us of other information combined with you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this may include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of this information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our Notice of Privacy Practices. You may opt out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the email.
- Melanin Oncology Treatment (PDQ) – Patient Edition. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/types/skin/patient/melanoma-treatment-pdq Accessed on August 17, 2020.
- July 2022 29
.
