Melanoma Risk, Screening, and Treatment

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Melanoma Risk, Screening, and Treatment

Melanoma Center
Columbia University Medical Center
In affiliation with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
Phone: 855-CUSURGE

Melanoma is a type of cancer that forms in the melanocytes of the skin, the cells that create the pigment responsible for skin color. (Less frequently, melanoma also occurs in the tissues of the eyes or in mucous membranes.) Melanoma is potentially fatal, but it is highly curable if recognized while it is in the skin (when it is known as cutaneous melanoma) and treated with appropriate surgical removal. If cutaneous melanoma is not removed in time, it may spread to the lymph nodes, and then to organs including the liver, lungs, or brain. Once melanoma spreads to these organs it is called metastatic melanoma.

Melanoma affects people of all ages, although a person's risk of contracting it increases with age. Factors that increase risk of melanoma include having light-colored skin, presence of atypical moles (larger, with irregular borders), presence of multiple moles (more than 50), a personal history of melanoma or skin cancer, a family history of melanoma, and exposure to sun.

Cutaneous Melanoma Screening

The mnemonic ABCDE is a popular guideline that you can use to look at a suspicious mark on your skin. The following characteristics may mean a mole or lesion on your skin is more likely to be melanoma:

Asymmetry
Border irregularity
Color variation
Diameter over 5 mm
Evolving (changing)
Elevation: The mole is raised or elevated above the skin.

Our center recommends yearly screenings from a dermatologist, especially if you think you are at risk. A cutaneous melanoma screening for someone at risk for the disease might include the following steps:

Discussion of medical and family history
Skin examination
Patient education regarding sun protection, moles, and melanoma
Taking pictures either with special instruments or a digital camera
Follow-up examination in six months to one year, depending upon the patient's degree of risk

Metastatic Melanoma

Once melanoma spreads to the lymph nodes or the organs, it becomes one of the most deadly forms of cancer and is very difficult to treat. Treatment might include surgical removal of the tumor and any involved lymph nodes, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy (cancer vaccines).

Metastatic melanoma is best treated at a multidisciplinary program offering access to innovative treatments such as chemotherapy-surgery combinations and cancer vaccines.

Awareness of risk and a proactive approach to screening are the best prevention for melanoma.

Quality of Life Interventions from the Columbia University Department of Surgery