Melanoma

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NURUL WAHIDA BT HAMDAN 030.08.301





Malignant melanoma is the leading cause of death due to skin disease. There were 62,190 new cases of melanoma in the United States in 2006, with 7,910 deaths. One in four cases of melanoma occurs before the age of 40. Overall survival for melanomas in whites has risen from 60% in 19601963 to more than 85% currently, primarily due to earlier detection of lesions. Incidence of these carcinomas is greater in men than in women, and incidence increases steadily with age. Malignant melanoma is the most serious skin cancer. An estimated 10,500 people die of skin cancer each year; 7,700 of these deaths are form malignant melanoma.

Cancerous nevus (mole)




Melanoma is a serious form of skin cancer. Beginning in the melanocytes, melanoma is the most common cause of skin-related death. These melanocytes make melanin, the substance that pigments skin.

Normal, healthy skin







Melanoma is caused by intense and prolonged exposure to sunlight. Sunburns cause minor skin damage, but over time and many burns, the skin can become so damaged that cells begin to divide uncontrollably: cancer. Ultraviolet solar radiation causes most skin cancers by inducing mutations in the p53 tumor-suppressor gene. Protection from the sun during the first 10-20 years of life significantly reduces the risk of skin cancer. Approximately half of melanoma cases happen only in those over 50 years of age. However, the other half includes younger people from about 20 to 30 years of age.



The first melanoma symptoms often are:
A change in an existing mole The development of a new, unusual-looking growth on your skin



Melanoma doesn't always begin as a mole. It can also occur on otherwise normalappearing skin.



The history of a changing mole (evaluation) is the single most important historical reason for close evaluation and possible referral. Bleeding and ulceration are ominous signs. A mole that stands out from the patient’s other moles deserves special scrutiny, “ugly duckling sign”. A patient with a large number of moles is statistically at increased risk for melanoma and deserves careful and periodic examination, particularly if the lesions are typical. Referral of suspicious pigmented lesions is always appropriate.



Written accounts of Melanoma’s history are extremely sparse. While it is believed Melanoma developed in arid environments such as Australia and Africa where exposure to sunlight is immense, no one is entirely certain of the time and place the disease first originated.

Melanoma is a highly aggressive malignancy; tumors only a few millimeters in thickness can give rise to metastasis and ultimately the death of the patient. In most cases, melanoma progresses from an intraepithelial (in situ) to invasive (dermal) form. Characteristics of the dermal tumor such as thickness and mitotic activity correlate strongly with overall survival. Lesions of the extremities have the best prognosis; head and neck lesions and trunk lesions have the poorest prognosis. Only 20% to 40% of patients with regional lymph node involvement are alive and cured at 5 years.

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