What is melanoma?
Melanoma is a malignant disease that develops from melanocytes (pigment cells) and can occur in every part of the body. Particular danger of melanoma consists in quick metastasizing.
Melanoma development process is still unclear but specialists underline such risk factors as inherited predisposition, UV radiation and nevus injury.
Types of melanoma
Oncologists classify melanoma according to the level of its invasion (Clark’s scale), thickness (Breslow’s scale), appearance and development scheme.
According to cell types melanoma is divided into:
- superficial melanoma;
- nodular melanoma;
- lentigo melanoma;
- acral lentiginous melanoma;
- spindle cell melanoma.
Symptoms of melanoma
Early stages of melanoma are often asymptomatic. A patient can notice development of a new nevus or change of existing nevus (redness, increase). Later stages comprise weight loss, weakness, increase of lymph nodes, etc.
Diagnostics
Complex diagnostics of melanoma includes investigation of the patient’s past medical history, examination of suspicious nevus with dermatoscope and of adjusting lymph nodes. Cancer-specific markers blood test and biopsy can be provided for specification of malignant nature of the disease. If a patient refers to a doctor at later stages comprising metastases, CT, PET-CT or MRI are provided to determine the scope and location of metastases.
Treatment of melanoma at each stage
Medical specialists develop individual program for each case considering general health condition of a patient and specifics of the disease.
Stage 0 involves surgical removal of a tumor. If surgery cannot be performed, topical therapy is applied.
Stage 1 melanoma treatment includes surgical excision of affected nevus with surrounding skin tissues.
For stage 2 melanoma treatment doctors provide expanded tumor excision with biopsy of signal lymph node. Some patients receive interferon alpha as adjuvant drug.
Stage 3 melanoma treatment comprises removal of both tumor and signal lymph node and tumor masses combined with chemo-, beam or combined therapy.
For stage 4 melanoma treatment doctors apply immune, targeted and chemotherapy. Metastases are removed surgically or by using radiotherapy or medication.
Melanoma treatment cost
Melanoma treatment cost depends on many factors:
- melanoma type;
- size of tumor;
- metastases in organism;
- necessary diagnostic procedures;
- treatment method;
- price policy of the hospital in the particular country.
Each melanoma patient receives individual diagnostic and treatment program comprising all these factors.