- Melanoma at different stages
- 0 stage melanoma
- 1 stage melanoma
- 2 stage melanoma
- 3 stage melanoma
- 4 stage melanoma
- How to identify skin cancer stage
- Survival rates
- Metastasis of melanoma
What do Khloe Kardashian, Bob Marley, and John McCain have in common? All of these celebrities have been diagnosed with melanoma — “the queen of cancers” and the most dangerous malignant disease? Cancer does not care whether you a famous person or just an ordinary guy.
Actually, tiny mole can cause terrifying cancer. Many people who read this article may ask: “So, how does melanoma look like? How to save yourself from the risk of skin cancer?” Let’s see how to determine the stage of melanoma and stay safe!
How does melanoma look like at an early stage?
Why is it important to conduct regular self-examination? If you do not want to waste your money on expensive treatments, just look at your body! Have you found new growth? Immediately visit a doctor to prevent serious consequences.
Melanoma at 0 stage (in situ)
At 0 stage, skin cancer does not spread into the deep layers, it stays "in its place." Melanoma is like a small mole of intense black or red color. Its surface can have white, pink, blue blotches, but in general, the mole looks normal. This stage of melanoma is curable — specialists perform surgery to remove it. Bookimed has chosen the best solution for 0 stage treatment due to world-class oncologists and surgeons who will take care of you.
Anadolu Hospital
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Anadolu Oncology Department aims to ensure a patient the best medical services combined with individual approach of “Patient Oriented Centered Care”. The Department uses the latest generation equipment such as Cyberknife, Da Vinci Robotic System, Truebeam. Working as affiliated partner of Johns Hopkins Medicine, Anadolu provides the US quality of services at affordable prices.
| Melanoma surgery | $8000 - $15000 |
At Anadolu, surgeons can remove early-stage melanoma during a biopsy and no treatment is required. Doctors also apply targeted therapy — this option may be used depending on the genetic structure of melanoma. Immunotherapy which boosts the patient’s immune system to fight cancer cells is also used to treat melanoma.
Book a consultation at Anadolu
Stage 1-2 melanoma
At the first stage, melanoma is about 1 mm in size. The tumor can swell, gets thicker but is rarely covered with ulcers. “This mole” does not cause any pain even when you push on it.
At the 2nd stage, the tumor increases up to 2 mm and can be covered with ulcers. Sometimes, there are ray-like stripes on the skin around the tumor.
To avoid the increase of melanoma growth, pay attention to the following medical solution in Spain.
Teknon Hospital
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- Recognized for excellence in Melanoma treatment with accreditations from Joint Commission International and awards like the IMTJ Medical Travel Award Winner in 2019.
- Offers a range of Melanoma surgeries including Mohs microsurgery and wide excision, ensuring tailored treatment options for each patient.
- Provides innovative Immunotherapy with Keytruda (Pembolizumab), a targeted therapy for advanced Melanoma cases.
- Home to a specialist oncologist with expertise in skin cancer treatment, ensuring patients receive care from highly qualified professionals.
- Equipped with modern facilities and follows stringent safety protocols to ensure patient comfort and the best possible outcomes.
| Topical therapy of melanoma | $5730.06 - $7813.72 |
| Melanoma surgery | $5730.06 - $7813.72 |
| Wide excision of melanoma | $5730.06 - $7813.72 |
How to get rid of melanoma at 1-2 stages? In Teknon Hospital, specialists provide MOHS, a surgical method to treat melanoma of 1 and 2 stages. A doctor precisely removes the skin with melanoma in very thin layers to eliminate the cancer cells totally. At Teknon, photodynamic therapy(PTD), a minimally-invasive technique is also applied — it helps to treat skin cancer at early stages involving light and a photosensitizing drug.
How does melanoma of the latest stages look like?
Stage 3 melanoma
Starting from stage 3, melanoma becomes significantly thicker and larger. It spreads to neighboring tissues and lymph nodes. In this case, the tumor gets covered by ulcers, and the general well-being of the patient is getting worse. Anyway, there are some innovative options, which can kill melanoma cells even at advanced stages.
Sourasky Hospital
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The oncology department of the State Sourasky Medical Center is the most demanding for the foreign patients. They choose State Sourasky Medical Center as the single point of the the best doctors, new equipment and affordable prices on melanoma treatment.
Melanoma diagnostics at State Sourasky Medical Center takes 3 to 4 days. It is necessary to revise the biopsy, BRAF mutation and PET CT diagnostics to define the treatment methods.
The treatment methods are:
- Stereotactic body radiation by Gamma Knife;
- Сhemotherapy and immunotherapy;
- Innovative method of targeted therapy and biochemotherapy;
- TIL protocole.
Is immunotherapy effective for melanoma patients? A new test can define this! At Sourasky, specialists carry out a new test that identifies whether patients with melanoma require immunotherapy or not.
Dr. Gilad Weiner, the Head of the laboratory says: “Medical Center Sourasky is the only one in Israel and one of the few in the world that has received FDA certification for this test.”
In 2013, the journal Science called immunotherapy the main scientific breakthrough in cancer treatment. Scientists have proved that a change in the processes between the tumor and the immune system can lead to an immune attack on the tumor. Now, Sourasky doctors apply immunotherapy to treat patients with metastatic melanoma.
Get a consultation at Sourasky
Stage 4 melanoma
Melanoma at the stage 4 is characterized by extensive damage to the tissues. Tumor affects the lymph nodes and distant organs. At the stage 4, melanoma grows into the deep layers of the skin and spreads (metastasized) throughout the body. Patients with the latest melanoma stage can find an appropriate treatment in the hospital represented below.
Medipol Hospital
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- Recognized for its comprehensive Melanoma treatment, including surgery, topical therapy, Mohs microsurgery, wide excision, and immunotherapy.
- Offers Immunotherapy with Keytruda (Pembolizumab), a modern approach to treating Melanoma.
- Awarded with Patient choice in Pediatric Oncology & Hematology Oncology, ensuring trust and quality care.
- Dr. Ozcan Yildiz, an expert in Medical Oncology with numerous scholarly articles and a focus on oncological diseases.
- Dr. Yildiz's research includes neuroendocrine tumors, lipid-lowering treatment, and various other oncological studies.
| Melanoma surgery | $7000 - $14000 |
At Medipol, doctors treat patients with melanoma spread to brain using radiosurgery with Gamma Knife method. Gamma Knife destroys damaged brain tissue with gamma rays not affecting healthy tissues. The main benefits of Gamma Knife are the following:
- this is a minimally-invasive surgery without skull opening.
- no risk of infections or other complications as hemorrhage, for example.
- patient has no hair loss after the procedure.
- high accuracy and less discomfort during the procedure.
- reduces hospital stay and boosts the recovery.
If you want to get treatment at Medipol and be sure your health is safe, just click the button for consulting with a specialist.
How to identify melanoma stage?
Nowadays, medical facilities keep the following classification system to detect melanoma:
- T — the size and thickness of the tumor.
- N — cancer spreads to lymph nodes.
- M — metastases are spread to distant organs.
Specialists around the world use the following indexes to say exactly what stage of cancer it is.
Category T
- Tx: the primary tumor cannot be evaluated.
- T0: there is no evidence of a primary tumor.
- Tis: melanoma in situ. (the tumor is in the epidermis).
- T1a: melanoma is less than or equal to 1.0 mm, without ulcers and with a low mitotic index (less than 1mm²).
- T1b: melanoma is less than or equal to 1.0 mm. The tumor is ulcerated and/or its mitotic velocity is equal to or greater than 1 mm2.
- T2a: melanoma is between 1.01 and 2.0 mm without ulceration.
- T2b: tumor size is from 1.01 to 2.0 mm with ulceration.
- T3a: melanoma is between 2.01 and 4.0 mm without ulceration.
- T3b: melanoma is from 2.01 to 4.0 mm with ulceration.
- T4a: melanoma is thicker than 4.0 mm without ulceration.
- T4b: melanoma is thicker than 4.0 mm with ulceration.
Category N
- Nx: regional lymph nodes cannot be evaluated.
- N0: the tumor did not spread to the local lymph nodes.
- N1: 1 proximal lymph node is affected.
- N2: melanoma affected 2 or 3 of the lymph nodes.
- N3: the tumor has spread to 4 or more lymph nodes.
Category M
- M0: There are no distant metastases.
- M1a: metastasis in the skin, subcutaneous tissue or lymph nodes in distant parts of the body, with a standard level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the blood.
- M1b: lung metastases with normal LDH levels.
- M1c: metastases to any other organs with high LDH levels.
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Melanoma prognosis and survival rates
Life expectancy in melanoma patients depends on early detection and immediate treatment of the disease. Melanoma mortality rate is high, and according to various estimates, it is 90-95%. This prognosis is done according to the survival data of 5-year and 10-year periods.
The 5-year survival rate for melanoma is the percentage of patients with a diagnosed disease who survived the 5-year index.
Stage I— for patients who were diagnosed with stage I melanoma and a tumor size of less than 0.76 mm, the 5-year survival rate is 97%!
If the tumor size exceeds 1.5 mm, then 81% of patients have a chance to get recovered. If the formation is covered with ulcers — the prognosis is 53%.
Stage II— with a tumor size of less than 4 mm, the survival rate is 47% of patients.
Stage III — the prognosis mostly depends on the number of affected lymph nodes. If 1 lymph node is affected, the survival rate reaches 78%; if there are two or more affected nodes — it’s 40%.
Stage IV— according to the American Cancer Society, a 5-year survival rate at stage IV of the disease is 15-20%. The prognosis can be more favorable if the tumor has spread to distant lymph nodes and skin, but NOT to the internal organs.
To get an immediate and effective melanoma treatment, just click on the button below.
Stage | 5-year survival rate |
|---|---|
0 and 1A | 97% |
1B | 95% |
2A | 81% |
2B | 70% |
2C | 53% |
3A | 78% |
3B | 59% |
3C | 40% |
4 | 15-20% |
| Stage | TNM |
|---|---|
| 0 | Tis, N0, M0 |
| IA | T1a, N0, M0 |
| IB | T1b or T2a, N0, M0 |
| IIA | T2b or T3a, N0, M0 |
| IIB | T3b or T4a, N0, M0 |
| IIC | T4b, N0, M0 |
| IIIA | T1a to T4a, N1a or N2a, M0 |
| IIIB | T1b to T4b, N1a or N2a, M0 |
| or | |
| T1a to T4a, N1b or N2b, M0 | |
| or | |
| T1a to T4a, N2c, M0 | |
| IIIC | T1b to T4b, N1b or N2b, M0 |
| or | |
| T1b to T4b, N2c, M0 | |
| or | |
| Any T, N3, M0 | |
| IV | Any T, any N, M1(a, b, or c) |
What is melanoma metastasis?
Metastasis is a pathogenic agent which spreads to other body organs and affects them.
How to understand that melanoma is metastasized? Specialists determine due to melanoma thickness — the smaller new growth is, the lower is the possibility of melanoma metastasis.
Thickness of melanoma | The probability of metastasis |
|---|---|
up to 0.76 mm | low |
from 0.76 mm to 4.0 mm | avarage |
more then 4.0 mm | high |
The first to be affected are the sentinel lymph nodes (standing guard) because they are the first barrier in the way of lymph drainage. If you do not consult a doctor on time, the metastases will quickly affect other tissues.
At stage 4, melanoma causes metastases in:
- skin and subcutaneous tissues (up to 59% of cases);
- lungs (up to 36%);
- liver (up to 29%);
- the brain (up to 20%);
- bones (up to 17%);
- gastrointestinal tract.
Symptoms of metastatic melanoma at the last stage are:
- general malaise;
- anemia;
- swollen lymph nodes;
- exacerbation of chronic diseases;
- a constant cough;
- weakness;
- loss of appetite and an abrupt decrease in weight;
- pain and aches in the bones;
- gray shade of skin;
- a headache;
- convulsions;
- nausea and vomiting;
- enlargement of the liver.
Metastasis of melanoma | Symptoms | Diagnostics | Treatment of metastases |
|---|---|---|---|
skin and subcutaneous tissue |
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lungs |
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liver |
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brain |
The exact symptoms depend on what part of the brain was affected by metastases. |
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bones |
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gastrointestinal tract |
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Melanoma is one of the most dangerous cancers. At an early stage, it looks like a mole and does not cause symptoms. If melanoma is detected at stages 0, 1, 2, the survival rates are significantly higher (85-97%). However, despite the fact that late-stage melanoma is hard to treat, many patients have all the chances to get recovered.