DERMATOSCOPIC EXAMINATIONS:

Each of us has the birthmarks of their skin. We usually pay attention to them on warm days, when we uncover arms and other body parts. Pigmented nevi occur in people of all races. They are constructed either of melanocytes (the cells which produce melanin pigment) or from nevus cells. The nevi may be congenital or acquired. Frequent sunbathing and tanning increase the number of new pigmented nevi on the skin and may induce cancer transformation within the existing marks. The claim that only people who intensely sunbathing suffer from melanoma is untrue. Melanoma also occurs on the body parts which are covered from the sun, for example, on the soles of the feet. It is obvious that UV radiation from sunlight or tanning bed has a significant impact on the risk of developing melanoma. Therefore, in people using sunscreen the pathological changes in the Pigmented nevi are less frequently observed. Hereditary susceptibility is also important. Melanoma
more likely affect those whose closest relatives fell ill with malignant skin cancer. In addition, people who have got light, rosy complexion, with fair hair and blue eyes, and people with many moles should especially pay attention to their marks. They sould also have the preventive examinations done more frequently.

A key test is the dermatoscopic examination which is observing patient’s skin with the use of a special microscope with a colour filter. The diagnosis of melanoma is more and more frequently aided by the use of computers and digital cameras. Special software allows to compare all the previously captured images of the same areas of the skin (it allows to increase the certainty of diagnosis to 90 percent).

You should be concerned with the marks of irregular shape and colour, oozing, expanding, and lying in areas exposed to frequent mechanical or chemical stimulation.

The major treatment of melanoma is removal of suspicious changes and the surrounding skin. The treatment of melanoma is radical excision of the tumour, along with a margin of healthy skin of a width of 1 cm for the melanomas of up to 2mm. When the melanoma extension is greater than 2mm, the area of healthy skin excision is from 2 cm to 3 cm. Prognosis in melanoma depends on the extension of invasion and clinical stage. In the early stages of advancement (Clark I / II, the depth of extension of the dermis to 1 mm) curability reaches over 90% - 100%.