LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Melanoma: Skin
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Melanoma is a form of cancer in which the pigment-producing cells of the skin known as melanocytes multiply in an erratic fashion eventually invading the tissues that surround them. Malignant melanoma refers to those melanomas in which the cancerous melanocytes spread from the original tumor and travel via blood and lymph vessels to lymph nodes and distant organs. Once established in an organ, additional tumors develop that cause the ultimate death of the animal. Melanomas are characterized as skin lesions with irregular borders and display a wide variety of coloration. Although found primarily on the skin, in the dog, they can ... be found in the oral cavity. In fact, malignant melanoma is the most common oral malignancy in the dog and it accounts for 30-40% of all oral tumors.
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Melanoma is a form of skin cancer in which cancer cells form in melanocytes (the skin cells that make the pigment melanin, which gives skin its natural color). When melanoma starts in the skin, usually as a mole, the disease is called cutaneous melanoma. Melanoma is most often found on the trunk (the area from the shoulders to the hips) of men and on the arms and legs of women. Melanoma can ... occur in the eye, which is called intraocular or ocular melanoma. The other types of skin cancers, which are more common than melanoma, are basal cell skin cancer and squamous cell skin cancer.
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Melanoma can affect most parts of the body. Melanoma may begin in or near a mole or other dark spot in the skin. It is important to be familiar with your skin and the pattern or moles, freckles and "beauty marks". Pay close attention if the size of your moles, freckles or beauty marks change in color or shape. The most common site in women is on the legs. In men, the most common place is the back.
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Melanoma occurs when melanocytes (pigment cells) become malignant. Most pigment cells are in the skin; when melanoma starts in the skin, the disease is called cutaneous melanoma. Melanoma may ... occur in the eye and is called ocular melanoma or intraocular melanoma. Rarely, melanoma may arise in the meninges, the digestive tract, lymph node, or other areas where melanocytes are found. Melanomas arising in areas other than the skin are not discussed in this booklet.
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Melanoma may be cured if caught and treated in its early stages when it affects only the skin. If melanoma is confined to the skin (primary melanoma), you will have surgery to remove the affected skin. If the melanoma is thin and has not invaded surrounding tissues, excision may cure the melanoma. In more advanced stages, melanoma may spread, or metastasize, to other organs and bones, making cure less likely.
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Melanoma is diagnosed at a late stage more commonly among darker skinned individuals than in white patients. There are two broad possibilities for this. It's possible that melanoma is a faster, more aggressive disease in non-whites than whites; or, more likely, is a lack of education among patients and physicians. Black and hispanic patients at high risk are known to lack education about the disease and to engage in fewer self-protective behaviors, such as putting on sunscreen and staying out of the bright sun.
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