Today I would like to share with you a very important news for the health of everybody: "They develop a new technique for the early detection of melanoma"
Specialists, from the University of Navarre Clinic (North of Spain), have incorporated a novel diagnostic technique to detect early melanoma, the most aggressive skin cancer, whose incidence in recent years is increasing. The new procedure consists in taking photographs of the entire body surface of the patient, by means of a device attached to a computer.
Thanks to this technology, they can automatically and early detect the appearance of new moles, susceptible to malignancy. In addition, automated complete body mapping is used in a complementary way to digital dermoscopy, which consists of periodically taking images of the structure of the atypical moles, to follow up and see if changes occur.
Melanoma is the most serious skin cancer, that has its origin in the skin surface, specifically in the melanocytes (the cells that give the dark colour to the skin). "The survival rate, in early melanomas, is very high, over 80%, and its treatment is simple, but when diagnosed in advanced stages the situation is complicated", explains the Dr. Leyre Aguado, dermatologist at the University Clinic of Navarre.
Dr. Leyre Aguado Gil
In most patients, a routine check-up at the dermatology clinic is enough. However, there is a group of patients, with risk factors, where greater control is needed. "This can happen because they have a personal or family history of melanoma, they have more than 100 moles or multiple atypical moles", adds the dermatologist Irene Palacios.
Dr. Irene Palacios
"Although the appearance of a new mole should always be studied, if it is a tumor, in patients with multiple moles it is very difficult to detect the appearance of a new one", said the Dr. Leyre Aguado. Thus, this novel technique facilitates the early detection of new lesions and their treatment.
"Melanoma, removed in early stages, has a good prognosis, but, at an advanced stage, it is necessary to apply more aggressive surgeries and other complementary cancer treatments", she explains. For this reason, it is considered essential to diagnose it early, for which it is necessary to go to the dermatologist regularly.
Usually, this skin cancer is associated with a history of sun exposure, but there are other risk factors such as the presence of many moles, family history, "premalignant moles" (nevus) or fair skin (phototype I). "In recent years, the number of cases has increased at an alarming rate, possibly due to a greater exposure to the sun", Palacios explains.
"Melanoma can appear on a previous mole or on healthy skin. Hence the importance of detecting new moles, as well as monitoring the changes on which you had previously", he adds. For that, the specialists talk about rule A, B, C, D and E: Asymmetry: when dividing it into 4 quadrants, these are very different among them, irregular edges, the presence of two or more colours, a diameter greater than 6 mm and changing evolution.
Well, I hope that you have liked to know about this advance.
Until my next post, kind regards,
Luis.
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