Early detection of melanoma improves survival

Melanoma affects 15 to 20 per 100, 000 in the UK. Cancers such as breast and prostate are around ten times more common than melanoma. It is the most common cancer between the age of 20 and 35 years in Caucasians but the incidence of melanoma is still very low in that age group. Melanoma has different clinical presentations with different outcomes and management. Melanomas grow over weeks or months and the lesions will most often have changed in terms of size, shape and colour. They may grow from a pre-existing naevus but also from normal skin. Melanoma can appear on the palms and soles or under the nail and on those sites may present as a vascular non-pigmented lesion which may cause diagnostic problems. Subjects with fair skin and hair have a two-fold increased risk of melanoma. However, the most consistent risk factor in Caucasians is the number of naevi. The presence of > 100 naevi with atypical naevi can increase the risk of melanoma five-to ten-fold. Any new mole in a subject over 40 should be regarded as suspicious.