Methods for melanoma diagnostics

Diagnostics of melanoma

Melanoma is a disease which is necessary to be diagnosed as soon as possible. Early diagnosis allows a patient saving health.

If you have noticed symptoms specific to melanoma, get a consultation with a specialist.

Preparation for melanoma diagnosis

Prepare answers for such questions:

• did anyone among your relatives have melanoma;
• did you get the UV influence (for instance, during the vacation or tanning-bed attending);
• did you notice an appearance of new moles;
• the general condition of the organism - how do you feel, how often are you ill, do you feel unwell.

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Dermatoscopy of melanoma

After a patient’s history taking, a dermatologist or onco-dermatologist examines a neoplasm on the skin using a special microscope - dermatoscope studies the skin in real time.

Also, a doctor can examine the lymph nodes to detect whether there is an inflammatory process or not.

Blood test for melanoma

Blood onkomarker test is not a primary method for establishing of melanoma diagnosis but allows controlling a treatment process. If melanoma spreads, test for the lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) level detection is made.

In some cases, general and biochemical blood tests are also assigned.

Biopsy of melanoma

If a doctor suspects that the mole is malignant, it is necessary to receive a tissue for the examination in the laboratory conditions.

A biopsy is a procedure for receiving of the tissues sample for the detection of cancer type.

There are several variants for biopsy conducting:

• shave biopsy;
• puncture biopsy;
• excisional biopsy.

Shave biopsy is an interfacial examination for detecting a type of the mole. The material is taken only from the skin surface so that a test can be inaccurate.

Puncture biopsy is considered as more informative way because a doctor takes from deep skin layers allowing to determine the process of malignant tissue intergrowth.

Puncture and shave biopsy is done only in the cases when a complete removal is impossible.

If it is impossible to remove melanoma, other biopsy methods may be applied. For instance, incisive one. During this procedure, a doctor removes only a part of the mole.

Using biopsy, doctors confirm melanoma diagnosis and detect the level of its intergrowth in the skin. The size and depth of melanoma intergrowth are pointed with T (Tumor) letter and figure from 0 to 4.

If the biopsy result shows the melanoma intergrew in the dermal skin layer, doctors can perform a biopsy of the sentinel lymph node (the first lymph node is on the way of lymph outflow from the neoplasm). The presence of metastases in the regional lymph nodes is pointed out with N (Nodules) letter and figure from 0 to 3 depending on the number of enlarged lymph nodes.

Biopsy results

After the examination of tissues, a doctor has to receive all the necessary information. It allows avoiding any doubts in diagnosis.

What does a biopsy show?

• diagnosis (a type of melanoma);
• the thickness on the Breslow scale (thickness of melanoma in mm);
• presence/absence of the erosion, ulcer;
• index of mitotic activity of cells;
• the depth of melanoma according to Clark scale (the layer of melanoma intergrowth in the skin);
• presence/absence of malignant cells on the edges of the resected neoplasm;
• presence/absence of melanoma satellites (tiny tumors nearby);
• melanoma ingrowth into the blood and lymphatic vessels;
• ingrowth of melanoma cells along the nerves;
• detection of melanoma cells subtypes.

Other options for melanoma diagnostics

If melanoma is suspected or in case of confirmed affection with metastases of the lymph nodes, doctors prescribe one of the visualized methods of internal organs. CT, MRI or PET-CT are used. The method of scanning to search metastases a doctor chooses depending on the symptoms. For instance, in case of the nervous system affection, MRI of the brain is conducted, in case of the liver affection - PET-CT.