Where is melanoma most commonly found

En Espanol. Melanoma is a serious form of skin cancer that begins in cells known as melanocytes. While it is less common than basal cell carcinoma BCC and squamous cell carcinoma SCC , melanoma is more dangerous because of its ability to spread to other organs more rapidly if it is not treated at an early stage. Learn more about melanoma types , risk factors , causes, warning signs and treatment. Melanocytes are skin cells found in the upper layer of skin.

They produce a pigment known as melanin, which gives skin its color. There are two types of melanin: eumelanin and pheomelanin. When skin is exposed to ultraviolet UV radiation from the sun or tanning beds, it causes skin damage that triggers the melanocytes to produce more melanin, but only the eumelanin pigment attempts to protect the skin by causing the skin to darken or tan.

Melanoma occurs when DNA damage from burning or tanning due to UV radiation triggers changes mutations in the melanocytes, resulting in uncontrolled cellular growth. Naturally darker-skinned people have more eumelanin and naturally fair-skinned people have more pheomelanin. While eumelanin has the ability to protect the skin from sun damage, pheomelanin does not. Melanomas present in many different shapes, sizes and colors.

Melanoma is usually curable when detected and treated early. Once melanoma has spread deeper into the skin or other parts of the body, it becomes more difficult to treat and can be deadly. How and where it grows: It can arise in an existing mole or appear as a new lesion. When it begins in a mole that is already on the skin, it tends to grow on the surface of the skin for some time before penetrating more deeply.

But some melanomas do not make melanin and can appear pink, tan, or even white. 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. Having darkly pigmented skin lowers your risk of melanoma at these more common sites, but anyone can get melanoma on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, or under the nails. Melanomas in these areas make up a much larger portion of melanomas in African Americans than in whites. Melanomas can also form in other parts of your body, such as the eyes , mouth, genitals, and anal area, but these are much less common than melanoma of the skin.

Melanoma is much less common than some other types of skin cancer. Lentigo maligna melanoma tends to develop on the face, scalp, or neck. It usually affects older people with very sun-damaged skin. Learn more about lentigo maligna melanoma. Acral lentiginous melanoma is a rare condition that affects people of all races and backgrounds. It is the most common form of melanoma in people of African and Asian descent. It can develop on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet as well as under the toenails and fingernails.

Learn more about acral lentiginous melanoma. Choroidal melanoma is the most common type of eye melanoma. It begins in the pigmented layer beneath the retina. Nodular melanomas usually appear as a changing lump on the skin that might be black to red in colour.

They often grow on previously normal skin and most commonly grow on the head and neck, chest or back. Lentigo maligna melanomas most commonly affect older people, particularly those who have spent a lot of time outdoors. They develop slowly over several years and appear in areas that are often exposed to the sun, such as the face.

To start with, lentigo maligna melanomas are flat and develop sideways in the surface layers of skin. They look like a freckle, but they're usually larger, darker and stand out more than a normal freckle. At a later stage, they may grow downwards into the deeper layers of skin and can form lumps nodules. Acral lentiginous melanomas are a rare type of melanoma that usually grow on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

They can also sometimes develop around a nail, most commonly the thumbnail or big toenail. Acral lentiginous melanomas are the most common type of melanoma in people with dark skin, but they can happen in people with any skin colour. Amelanotic melanomas have little or no colour, but may occasionally be pink or red, or have light brown or grey edges. Cancer Research UK has more information about the different types of melanoma. Exposure to ultraviolet UV light from the sun is thought to cause most melanomas, but there's evidence to suggest that some may result from sunbed exposure.

The type of sun exposure that causes melanoma is sudden intense exposure. For example, while on holiday, which leads to sunburn.