![Knowing About Malignant Melanoma: A Deadly Skin Disease]()
Has anyone in your family suffering from melanoma, then there are certain facts you should know about this malignant skin disease. Melanoma, a skin disease, is a tumor of melanocytes, which are found mainly on skin eye and bowel. Most of the skin cancer related deaths are caused by this rare type of skin cancer. Popularly known as Malignant Melanoma, is a serious kind of skin cancer.
Melanoma is caused due to unrestrained development of pigment cells, known as melanocytes. Around 160,000 patients are diagnosed with melanoma every year worldwide. Regardless of years of rigorous clinical and laboratory research, the only cure available is surgical resection of the previous tumor before it reaches a breslow thickness larger than 1 mm.
Types of Melanoma
The most usual types of melanoma are acral lentiginous melanoma, lentigo maligna, nodal melanoma, superficial spreading melanoma, uveal melanoma and mucosal melanoma.
Factors behind melanoma
There are two main factors behind the development of melanoma, they are environmental and intrinsic. The environmental factor behind melanoma is exposure to the sun; while intrinsic factor is related to the individual’s inherited genotype and family history.
Epidemiologic studies show that the main reason behind the development of melanoma is exposure to ultraviolet radiation to the sun (UVB and UVA). UV radiation damages the DNA of cells, mainly thymine dimerization, which if not repaired can cause mutations in genes of cells. If the mutations happen in tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes , the rate of mitosis might become uncontrollable in mutation bearing areas. Areas of sporadic sun exposure are more vulnerable to melanoma.
Genetically familial melanoma is heterogeneous, on the chromosome arms the loci for familial melanoma has been identified as 12q,1p and 9p.Multiple tumor suppressor 1 gene encodes p161NK4a, has low molecular weight protein. Only after their appearance on the skin melanomas can be diagnosed.
Diagnosis of melanoma
Moles that are irregular in shape or color are doubtful of melanoma. A biopsy by using local anesthesia of these moles is essential to know the severity of the melanoma.
If you are suffering from melanoma, then it is better to get a proper analysis of it from your doctor or there is enough material on the net to give you a detailed knowledge of melanoma.
