Melanoma Skin Cancer | Baylor Scott & White Health

What is melanoma?

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer. It develops in melanocytes, which are cells that color the skin. While less common than other types of skin cancer, melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer due to the fact that it spreads rapidly.

Melanocytes play an important role in the body, producing melanin and helping to protect the skin from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. Sometimes, though, these cells develop abnormally and grow aggressively, becoming malignant melanoma.

When melanoma is detected early, before it spreads, it’s highly treatable.

Melanoma symptoms

Melanoma most often develops in a skin growth that resembles a normal mole. Normal moles are small, evenly colored spots that are either flat or raised and round or oval. Melanoma looks distinctly different from these moles and often follows an ABCDE pattern:

Asymmetry: If you mentally divide the skin growth in half, the two sides won’t match in appearance.
Border: The borders of melanomas tend to be uneven, scalloped or notched.
Color: Unlike regular moles, melanomas often include multiple colors.
Diameter: Regular moles are most often smaller than a pencil eraser, so anything larger can potentially be cancerous.
Evolving: Melanoma sometimes develops in existing moles, so watch for changes in size, color, shape or elevation.

Other melanoma symptoms can include

Dark patches of skin on the palms of your hands or soles of your feet
Dark spots in the iris of the eye
Dark spots in the mouth, nose or genitals
Dark streaks on a fingernail or toenail
Itchiness or pain around a mole
Nonhealing sores
Redness or swelling around a mole
Scaliness, oozing or bleeding on the surface of a mole

When to see a doctor

See your doctor if you notice changes to existing moles or new skin spots.

Melanoma causes

Melanoma skin cancer is caused by damage to the DNA of melanocytes, which spurs them to develop abnormally and spread rapidly. The most common cause of this damage is excessive exposure to UV rays, including those from the sun and tanning beds.

This exposure can cause gene mutations, which later develops into melanoma. These are called “acquired gene mutations,” as opposed to “inherited gene mutations,” which are passed down through families.

Melanoma risk factors

Many factors increase your risk of developing melanoma, including things you can change and things that are beyond your control.

Risk factors you can change

Controllable melanoma risk factors include:

Excessive sun exposure: Spending time in the sun exposes your skin to UVA rays, which causes skin aging and contributes to skin cancer, and to UVB rays, which damages the skin and also contributes to skin cancer.
Poor sun safety habits: Failing to use broad-spectrum sunscreen, along with not wearing protective clothing and seeking shade from the sun increases UV exposure, which increases melanoma risk.
Tanning bed use: Indoor tanning is associated with both a higher risk of developing melanoma and a higher risk of developing this form of skin cancer more than once.

Diagnosing melanoma

If you notice anything unusual about your skin, schedule an appointment with your primary care doctor or a dermatologist. These doctors can closely examine your skin and order tests to determine whether a spot is cancerous.

A female doctor sits at her desk and chats to an elderly female patient while looking at her test r

Types of melanoma

Melanoma most often develops in the skin. The four main types of melanoma skin cancer are:

Acral lentiginous melanoma: These melanomas are the most common among dark-skinned people and often develop on the palms of the hand, soles of the feet and nail beds.
Lentigo maligna melanoma: This type of melanoma is often found on sun-exposed areas of the skin and may develop slowly over several years. Lentigo maligna melanomas can be dark brown to black or a raised blackish-blue nodule.
Nodular melanoma: These melanomas become invasive soon after developing and look similar to a blood vessel growth.
Superficial spreading melanoma: The most common form of melanoma, this type grows horizontally on the skin before becoming invasive. These melanomas are usually brown lesions with black, blue or pink discoloration.

Melanoma stages

Melanoma staging uses the American Joint Committee on Cancer’s TNM system, which categorizes cancer based on a tumor’s size and characteristics, whether it has spread to the lymph nodes and whether it has metastasized (spread) to distant parts of the body.

There are five stages of melanoma cancer:

Stage 0

Called melanoma in situ, this stage of cancer is found when it’s only on the epidermis, the outer layer of skin.

Stage I

The tumor is no more than 2millimeters thick. There are no signs that the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes or other parts of the body.

Stage II

The tumor is between 1 and 4 millimeters thick. There are no signs that the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes or other parts of the body.

Stage III

Melanoma has spread to nearby lymph nodes, small areas of nearby skin (called satellite tumors) or to lymphatic channels around the tumor.

Stage IV

Metastatic melanoma has spread to distant parts of the body and may have spread to nearby lymph nodes.

Melanoma treatment

There are different options when it comes to treating melanoma. Innovations in melanoma treatment over the past few decades have increased survival rates, even for metastatic melanoma.

Your doctors will create a personalized treatment plan based on several factors, including the type and stage of melanoma you have.

Surgery

Surgery is the primary treatment for all stages of melanoma. During surgery, a doctor will remove the melanoma and an area of normal tissue around it called the “margin.” The margin is then tested to see whether that tissue contains any cancerous cells.

If cancer cells are found in the margin surrounding melanoma, additional tissue will be removed until testing of the margins comes back clean. Nearby lymph nodes may also be removed during surgery to test them for cancer or if a biopsy has already determined that melanoma has spread there.

Additional types of surgery may be used to treat melanoma that has spread to distant parts of the body in people who have metastatic melanoma or recurrent melanoma.

Locations for melanoma care

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the US, with melanoma as the most dangerous form of skin cancer. You can trust that the experts at our cancer centers across North and Central Texas have access to advanced treatment options for melanoma to help ensure the best possible outcomes. Find a center near you.

Baylor Scott & White Legacy Heart Center - Richardson

3261 E President George Bush Hwy Ste 200, Richardson, TX, 75082

Baylor Scott & White Legacy Heart Center - Richardson

3261 E President George Bush Hwy Ste 200, Richardson, TX, 75082

What is melanoma?

Melanoma symptoms

When to see a doctor

Melanoma causes

Melanoma risk factors

Risk factors you can change

Risk factors you can’t change

Diagnosing melanoma

Medical history and exam

Biopsy

Imaging and tests

Types of melanoma

Melanoma stages

Melanoma treatment

Surgery

Immunotherapy

Chemotherapy

Targeted therapy

Radiation therapy

Palliative care

Locations for melanoma care

Frequently asked questions:

Where is the most common spot for melanoma to start?

How long can you have melanoma without knowing?

What is the survival rate for melanoma?

What percent of melanomas are fatal?

Is melanoma skin cancer fatal?

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