Oncologist reveals where melanoma most often forms on the body
Oncologist of the 1st category of the HappyDerm medical center Lyudmila Artyushkevich highlighted several facts about melanoma.
Every year, more than 200,000 people are diagnosed with melanoma.
Melanoma most often develops on the skin of the legs (50% of cases), trunk (20-30%), face and neck (15-20%). However, melanoma can occur in areas that are not exposed to sunlight, such as the genital area, perineum, between the fingers and toes, in the armpits, as well as in the eyes, under the nails and in the mucous membranes of internal organs.
Up to 20% of melanomas develop at the site of moles, and 80% occur on unchanged skin.
Over the past 50-60 years, the survival rate of patients with melanoma has increased significantly.
Melanoma accounts for only 10% of all skin cancers, but is the most aggressive.
The five-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with early-stage melanoma who are treated in Israel, the United States or Germany is 98%. However, if melanoma spreads to the lymph nodes, survival drops to 63%, and if there are metastases and damage to other organs, to 15%.
The average age of patients diagnosed with melanoma is 59 years old, but melanoma is more often diagnosed in people aged 25 to 29 years than other types of cancer.
Five sunburns double the risk of developing melanoma.
A case of melanoma diagnosis in utero has been recorded.
More than 86% of melanoma cases are related to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or tanning beds.
