A typical Superficial spreading melanoma lesion will have irregular borders, various shades of black, brown, gray, blue, pink, red, or white. Within the lesion there can be a remarkable variation in color involving white, pink, brown, and black.
It is always important to remember that SSM can progress rapidly. If you have lesion that you suspect could be melanoma you need to have it examined by a dermatologist immediately.
Nodular Melanoma
Nodular Melanoma is known to be the most aggressive type of melanoma. It accounts for about 15% of all melanoma diagnosed in the United States. Nodular melanoma is known to appear anywhere on the body and it occurs more commonly in males than females. This type of melanoma can develop at any age, but it is most commonly seen in people over the age of 60.
Nodular Melanoma differs from other types of melanoma in three ways. First it tents to grow more rapidly in thickness than it does in diameter. The second is that it may not have a readily visible phase of development. Last is that instead of arising for a pre existing mole, it may appear in a spot where a lesion to not already exist.
Since Nodular melanoma tends to grow deeper more quickly than it does wide and it can occur in a spot where there was not previous lesion, it is often worst because it takes a person a long time to be aware of the changes.
Nodular melanoma is often darkly pigmented, but however in some cases it can be light brown or even colorless. Light colored and colorless lesions often escape detection because the appearance is not alarming. It is also very common for a lesion to be ulcerating and bleeding. An important thing to remember for nodular melanoma is that it may appear where a lesion did not exist before, so have any unsuspected areas looked at by a dermatologist asap.
Lentigo Maligna Melanoma
Lentigo Maligna melanoma LMM is most common on sun damaged skin in middle aged and elderly people. LMM is very common to occur on the face because the is usually the place where the most sun damage occurs. The problem with lintigo maligna is that it is commonly mistaken in its early stages for a age spot or a sun spot. It occurs for about 10% of a melanoma diagnosed cases in the United States. Because LMM is easily mistaken for a sun spot or age spot, it can go undetected for years and be quite dangerous.
LMM begins as a spreading, flat, patch with irregular borders and variable colors of brown. The spreading brown patch may grow slowly for years and be mistaken for lentigo simplex which is a non cancerous benign patch that develops on elderly people after years of exposure.
As a lesion grows and evolves, both the pigmentation and borders tend to become more irregular. This can occur slowly for periods for 10 to 15 years. LMM can also happen much more rapidly in a matter of weeks or months depending on the case. For lesions that grow deeper into the skin as thickness increases, may become various shades of black and brown, and dark nodules may appear within the irregular borders. The dark nodules are the invasive tumor, and if the become large enough they can be felt by the touch felling very lumpy. It is important to remember if you have a large patch of pigmented skin, with an irregular border to see a dermatologist ASAP even if you think its just a sun or age spot.
Acral Lentiginous Melanoma
Acral Lentiginous Melanoma ALM, accounts for about 5% of all diagnosed melanoma cases in the United States. ALM is the most common type of melanoma that occurs in Asians and people with dark skin, accounting for 50% of melanoma cases in people with these skin types.
Acral Lentiginous is sometimes referred to as a hidden melanoma, because the lesions occur on parts of the body that are not easily examined and not thought necessary to examine. ALM may develop on the palms, soles, mucous membranes that line the mouth, nose, female genitals, and underneath or near finger nails and toe nails. Often ALM is overlooked until it is in its advanced stages of life, because in the early stages it often looks like a bruise or nail streak.
- Palm or Sole- The melanoma usually begins as an irregularly shaped tan, brown, or black spot. It is often mistaken for a bruise that is attributes from some recent injury.
- Mucous Membrane- When ALM develops on a mucus membrane, it is most likely to develop inside the mouth or the nose. There are early symptoms that occur from this such as nose bleeds, nasal stuffiness and a pigmented mass inside the mouth. It is also common for the mucus membranes of the anus, urinary tract, and female genitalia to develop ALM.
- Nails- The first sign of ALM on a nail could be a nail streak. This is a narrow, dark stripe under the nail. It is common for ALM to develop on the thumb or big toe, however it can also occur under any finger nail or toe nail. It is common for most people of dark skin to have some nail streaks. A new nail streak that is not associated with a recent accident, or a nail that is separating or lifting from the nail bed should be examined by a dermatologist. ALM can also develop without an obvious nail streak, and it can look very much like an infection of the nail bed.
