Metastatic Melanoma: A Skin Cancer
Joseph Castillo
St. Pius X- St. Matthias Academy
General Biology, Pr. 3
Ms. Nieshe Washington
Cancer: What is Cancer?
In general, the word cancer is the name given to a collection of related diseases (What is cancer? n.d.. ). In our everyday life multiple thousands of your cells divide in order to keep the function of that certain cell ongoing. Through out all types of cancer, the body begins to force cells to divide without cease which then spreads to the surrounding tissue. Cancer can take form in any part of the human body, were thousands of cells are cancerous. Through time human cells grow and divide to form new ones as it is a requirement for the body to keep functioning. Therefore
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when cells become old or abnormal they die and new cells form and take their place. However when cancer develops this process is effected. As cancer begins to form the issue of abnormal, old, or damaged cells not being replaced occurs, and also vise versa were cells can grow rapidly when there is no need for replacement. The division of these extra cells can cause the formation of a mass known as a tumor. A tumor is an abnormal mass of tissue which can be benign (miniscule) or malignant ( abnormal), however it is important to know that not all tumors are cancerous. Metastatic Melanoma: A Skin Cancer Metastatic Melanoma is known in simple terms as skin cancer. On a similar note the word metastatic is a term used to classify your melanoma skin cancer to have progressed. Now not only is it your skin but it has spread throughout the body, this is otherwise known as advanced melanoma ( “ Skin Cancer n.d. a). To grasp the meaning of ( Metastatic Melanoma ) it would be best to start at the basis of this cancer. The largest organ in the human body is the skin and therefore it is responsible for many tasks. Some tasks that it performs is covering the internal body such as the organs and helping protect them from injury, serving as a barrier to germs such as bacteria. In importance to this case it also protects the rest of the body from (UV) ultraviolet rays which can be produced from the sun, tanning beds, light , etc... ( “ American Cancer Society”, n.d. ). Melanoma skin cancer initially begins within melanocytes.
Melanocytes are the cells responsible for the production of melanin, known as the tan or brown pigment produced to protect the skin from harmful sunrays. Melanocytes are located in the epidermis which is known as the first layer of skin. How melanoma skin cancer begins to form is by forming benign tumors. Which is basically a mass of non cancerous cells and have a slower growth rate than a malignant tumor. This is commonly seen as a (nevus) mole, this a form of a benign skin tumor due to melanocytes producing an abundant amount of melanin causing it to collect. Metastatic melanoma can nearly develop anywhere on the skin for males it is on the trunk, chest and upper body, were as for women it is common to see it on the legs. Metastatic can aslo spread through the epidermis and into the …show more content…
organs. Metastatic Melanoma: Population Impacted Each year in the U.S, nearly five million people are treated for skin cancer. In the year of 2006, the most recent studies have shown that 3.5 million cases were diagnosed in 2.2 million people. More and more cases of melanoma arise each year greater than those of the combined cancers: breast cancer, prostate, lung, and colon cancer . (Skin Cancer Foundation. n.d.). Metastatic melanoma and melanoma itself is commonly found in those with fair skin, and not in those of a darker tone such as African Americans. It can also be found in those with colored eyes, people with freckles, and red hair. (Brenden S. American Cancer Society information specialist 21 Apr. 2015) Metastatic Melanoma: Symptoms Unusual moles, sores, lumps, blemishes, markings, or changes in the way an area of the skin looks or feels may be a sign of melanoma or another type of skin cancer, or a warning that it might occur.
The most important warning sign for melanoma is a new spot on the skin or a spot that is changing in size, shape, or color. Another important sign is a spot that looks different from all of the other spots on your skin (known as the ugly duckling sign). (Signs and symptoms of melanoma skin cancer. n.d.) How melanoma skin cancer begins to form is by forming benign tumors. This is commonly seen as a mole (nevus) which is a benign skin tumor that develops from melanocytes. Melanomas can develop anywhere on the skin, but they are more likely to start on the trunk (chest and back) in men and on the legs in women. The neck and face are other common
sites. Metastatic Melanoma:Causes Melanoma occurs when something goes awry in the melanin-producing cells (melanocytes) that give color to your skin.In most cases, melanoma is caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or tanning beds. The UV radiation damages the DNA of skin cells, and they start to grow out of control. Melanoma can also be found in multiple parts of your body and those that aren't exposed to sunlight, such as things like the palms of your hands. Researchers think other risk factors are involved, but they aren't sure what all of them are. Hereditary has a major factor in melanoma skin cancer, about one in every 10 patients diagnosed with melanoma have had a diagnosed relative. There is a 50 percent chance of developing melanoma from a relative than those with no family history. (“Skin Cancer”, n.d./b). Metastatic Melanoma: Preventions and Diagnosis When going to see your doctor will most certainly ask you a general information before performing any tests to see if you have symptoms of metastatic melanoma. Such as : have you ever used a tanning bed?, how many times have you had a sunburn? etc. However if you haven’t already been diagnosed with melanoma, your doctor will do a skin exam. This is known as the (A,B,C,D, E’s). This checking the asymmetry of a nevus the border, color , diameter, and to see if it has abnormally evolved. If any of these factors seem abnormal your doctor will perform a punch biopsy removing a piece of the tumor or an excisional biopsy then he will analyze it checking for cancerous cells. ( “ Skin Cancer” n.d. c) Metastatic Melanoma: Treatment Metastatic Melanoma is one of the most complex cancers to treat, however one still has options. Depending on how advanced the Melanoma is depends on your treatment. Since most case are incurable the goal for the doctor is to shrink or eliminate the spread and growth. Stop the cancer from spreading elsewhere. Also to make sure that the patient is comfortable and has a suitable life with the cancer. There are other options such as surgery were there is the removal of benign tumors or mets. Other treatments are chemotherapy which is radiation attacking the cancerous cells and last is immunotherapy were drugs fight to strengthen your immune system. ( “ Skin Cancer” n.d. ) Figure 1 Affected areas of Metastatic Melanoma ( right), retrieved from Copyright Cancerhelp UK References Brenden S. American Cancer Society information specialist 21 Apr. 2015 Skin Cancer / Melanoma Center: Signs, Treatments, Symptoms, Types, Causes, and Tests. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from /a http://www.webmd.com/melanoma-skin-cancer/default.htm Skin Cancer / Melanoma Center: Signs, Treatments, Symptoms, Types, Causes, and Tests. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from /b http://www.webmd.com/melanoma-skin-cancer/default.htm Skin Cancer / Melanoma Center: Signs, Treatments, Symptoms, Types, Causes, and Tests. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from /c http://www.webmd.com/melanoma-skin-cancer/default.htm What Is Cancer? (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/what-is-cancer Skin Cancer Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/skin-cancer-facts Signs and symptoms of melanoma skin cancer. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://www.cancer.org/cancer/skincancer-melanoma/detailedguide/melanoma-skin-cancer-signs-and-symptoms
Melanoma is a non-communicable disease and according to the Melanoma Institute of Australia, is a malignant skin cancer that affects thousands of individuals. It is a prevalent and serious non-communicable disease, making it an important issue in Australia. Both a biomedical perspective and sociological perspective must be considered to enable health practitioners to have a deep understanding about melanoma, and thus allow them to develop efficient and effective treatment and prevention methods.
Early diagnosis provides the best hope many have in beating cancer. Unfortunately, this is not the end of the fight for many cancer patients. Primary tumors may be successfully treated early, only to later discover they have metastasized to other areas of the body.
Melanocytes, embryologically derived from the neural crest, are distributed in the epidermis and thus are found throughout the skin. They produce a brown pigment known as melanin and are responsible for racial variation in skin color and also the color of moles. Malignant degeneration of the melanocyte gives rise to the tumor, melanoma, of which there are four subtypes. These are: superficial spreading, nodular, lentigo maligna, and acral lentiginous melanomas, accounting for 70%, 15% to 30%, 4% to 10%, and 2% to 8% of cases, respectively. Malignant melanoma may develop anywhere on the body. In men, it is most common on the trunk. In women, it is most common on the back or legs. The subtype also may influence where the tumor develops, lentigo melanoma is more common on the face while acral lentiginous melanoma is more common on the palms of the hand, soles of the feet, or in the nail beds.
In melanoma some common signs and symptoms are the doctor may notice an abnormal area in the skin that may look unusual. A mole, sore, lump, or growth on the skin can be a sign of melanoma. A sore or growth that bleeds, or changes in skin coloring may also be a sign of skin cancer. Your doctor may run several test to detect if melanoma is...
Superficial spreading melanoma spreads slowly on the top layers of the skin before it may begin to penetrate deeper layers of skin. A flat or slightly raised, discolored (tan, brown, black, red, blue or white), and asymmetrical patch of skin. are likely indicators of its presence. In this regard, superficial spreading melanoma may begin with previously benign mole. This type of melanoma is more common in young people, and it accounts for 70 percent of all melanoma diagnosis.
The first sign of melanoma is often a change in the size, shape, or color of an existing mole or the appearance of a new mole. Men most commonly develop melanoma on the trunk, particularly the back, and women on the legs or arms. Melanoma develops in a manner similar to other cancer types. A cell's DNA genes, which control cell division and reproduction, become damaged. The damaged genes cause the cell to divide and grow without control or order, eventually becoming a malignant tumor.
Moles are harmless and in very rare cases they can lead to cancer. In fact, detecting pigment patches and monitoring moles can help detecting skin cancer, particularly malignant melanoma. They are usually round or oval shape that may be a birth mark which may be present at the time of birth. There may be cases when moles develop at the time of pregnancy and puberty.
Basal and squamous cell skin cancer are the most common forms of skin cancer. Multiple studies have shown that these cancers are almost always connected to large amounts of sun exposure. This can come from things like outdoor sports, performing something outdoors with little coverage from clothing, and getting multiple severe sunburns. You can see signs of skin cancer inside and outside of your body. Rough, thick, dry skin patches are common symptoms, but things
Cancer is a very large issue in the world. Cancer is a sickness that can lead to many life threatening problems and can eventually lead to death. There are many different kinds of cancer that can effect a person without them even knowing it is there. One type of cancer that can be easier to detect would be skin cancer. Skin cancer can be diagnosed by seeing a doctor or dermatologist, if they see an abnormal mole or spot on your skin, they many ask to remove the spot and test it in their laboratory. If the spot or mole comes back positive for skin cancer, they next will run more tests to see if it has spread throughout the body. The first thing the doctor will ask you is the time frame from when you first started noticing this on your body,
Types of skin cancer are melanoma, and non-melanoma, which are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Melanoma is the rarer of the types and begins in the melanocytes or pigmented cells of the skin (National Cancer Institute, 2013). It is more serious than non-melanoma cancers because it can spread to other areas of the body. Non-melanoma cancers are more common and begin in the basal and squamous layers of the skin (National Cancer Institute, 2013). It is rare that this type of cancer spreads to any other area of the body.
Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and begin to invade other tissues. The term cancer is also used when cells start to produce too quickly when there are not enough cells dying. Cancer cells are also called malignant cells. Cancerous cells are able to invade other healthy cells and can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems.
Cancer Cancer is a disease in which cells grow out of control and invade, erode, and destroy normal tissue. Damaged genes cause this development of cancer. These damaged genes are often a factor caused by such things such as the environment, and can be influenced by inherited factors. As the very early damaged cells divide they can evolve into a malignant cell population, and lose the control mechanism that govern normal cell division. These malignant cells can then go on to form solid tumours that start to destroy normal tissue.
Skin cancer is a disease where cancer (malignant) cells are found on the outer layer of the skin (epidermis). The three types of cells found in the epidermis are squamous cells, basal cells, and melanocytes. These cells in time grow to be cancerous. Thus, the three types of skin cancers are squamous cell, basal cell, and melanoma. Melanoma is the most deadliest and destructive type of cancer. (“Skin Cancer” infotrac.com) The number of people with melanoma has risen in Scotland from 3.5 in 1979 to 10.6 per 100,000 in 1998 for men and 7.0 to 13.1 for women. (Miller 945) Squamous cell and Basal cell skin cancer can kill up to 2,200 people a year in the United States. (Sommerfield SIRS.com) Basal cell, being the most common type of skin cancer, is the cancer that about 75 percent of the people have. (“Skin Cancer “ infotrac.com) Melanoma is mostly seen in older men but ever since tanning came in during the 1970’s, it has increased in women 60 percent around the ages 15-29 over the past three decades.(Sommerfield SIRS.com) “And basal cell and squamous cell cancers are increasing at a rate of about 5 percent per year”(Sommerfield SIRS.com).
There are three main types of skin cancer. These are malignant melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. While melanoma is the most life-threatening of the three, it is also the most common. Melanoma will usually appear as a large mole or lesion on the skin, and usually suddenly. It generally tends to appear on the lower-backs of men and the lower-legs of women, though in elderly, sun-damaged persons, it is also prone to forming on the head and neck. While treatment is very successful when caught in the early stages, waiting too long can dramatically decrease the success rate of treatments. Catching the cancer early can result in simply having the mole-looking cancer removed, but if a patient delays treatment for any reason the cancer may spread to other (possibly vital) organs such as the digestive tract, lungs, eyes, or lymph nodes.
Dr. Steele goes on to say scaling of the skin, red, rough patches, a large or dark lesion or a lesion that remains for an extended period of time is a cause of concern and needs to be examined by a doctor. Skin cancer comes in three forms, ye there are also pre-cancerous lesions that need to be treated to ensure they don't progress to cancer. Treatment options vary on the type of lesion detected, and patients may find they have options as to how to treat any skin condition. This is best determined by conferring with a dermatologist.