Nodular melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer. It grows and spreads more quickly than other types, and a doctor usually diagnoses it at a later stage.
Nodular melanoma
This is the most aggressive form of cutaneous melanoma. Nodular melanoma typically appears as a dark bump—usually black, but lesions may also appear as colorless skin tones.
Nodular melanoma skin cancer has a poor prognosis because it grows down into the skin (vertical growth pattern) and tends to be thick when diagnosed.
Once a tumor has spread to distant body sites such as organs, it is considered a stage IV melanoma, with an estimated five-year survival rate of only 18 percent in the U.S. These survival figures are improving every year because of new treatments (some therapies are keeping as much as 40 percent of stage IV patients ...
For people with "thin melanoma," defined as being less than 1 millimeter in maximal thickness, that has not spread to lymph nodes or other distant sites, the 5-year relative survival rate in the United States is 99%. However, for people with thicker melanoma, the 5-year relative survival rate may be 80% or higher.
Nodular melanoma is a highly dangerous form of melanoma that looks different from common melanomas and can grow in just a few weeks. Raised and even in color, nodular melanoma are often red, pink, brown, or black. It can be life-threatening if not detected and removed quickly.
Stage IV melanoma is difficult to cure as it has already spread to other parts of the body. However, a growing number of people respond well to treatment, achieve No Evidence of Disease (NED), and survive for many years.
What are the signs of late-stage skin cancer? Melanoma is considered stage 4 when it has metastasized to lymph nodes in a part of the body far from the original tumor or if it has metastasized to internal organs like the lungs, liver, brain, bone or gastrointestinal tract.
Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer. However, a melanoma diagnosis is not a death sentence.
According to the American Cancer Society , the 5-year survival rate for stage 4 melanoma is 15–20 percent. This means that an estimated 15–20 percent of people with stage 4 melanoma will be alive 5 years after diagnosis. Many different factors influence an individual's chance of survival.
Stage I: Low-risk primary melanoma with no evidence of spread. This stage is generally curable with surgery. Stage II: Features are present that indicate higher risk of recurrence, but there is no evidence of spread. Stage III: The melanoma has spread to nearby lymph nodes or nearby skin.
How fast does melanoma spread and grow to local lymph nodes and other organs? “Melanoma can grow extremely quickly and can become life-threatening in as little as six weeks,” noted Dr. Duncanson.
Survival for all stages of melanoma
around 90 out of every 100 people (around 90%) will survive their melanoma for 5 years or more after diagnosis. more than 85 out of every 100 people (more than 85%) will survive their melanoma for 10 years or more after they are diagnosed.
Melanoma cells share numerous cell surface molecules with vascular cells, are highly angiogenic, are mesenchymal in nature, and possess a higher degree of 'stemness' than do other solid tumors.
Amelanotic melanoma is an aggressive type of skin cancer that doesn't produce the pigment melanin, which gives most melanomas their dark appearance. As a result, they don't look like other melanomas. Instead, they may appear skin-colored, pink or even reddish, with gray or brownish edges.
Melanoma at stage 1 is invasive. It has grown below the thin outer layer of the skin to the next layer of skin. It has not spread to lymph nodes. Stage I melanoma includes all melanomas that are in an early stage.
Chemotherapy: This is a combination of powerful drugs used to kill cancer cells. It's recommended more often with stage III. Chemo is usually only an option for stage IV if other treatments haven't worked.
Once melanoma spreads beyond the skin to other parts of the body, it becomes hard to treat and can be fatal. The incidence of melanoma is increasing worldwide. The median age of diagnosis is 59 and the median age of death due to melanoma is 67.
How long can you have melanoma and not know it? It depends on the type of melanoma. For example, nodular melanoma grows rapidly over a matter of weeks, while a radial melanoma can slowly spread over the span of a decade. Like a cavity, a melanoma may grow for years before producing any significant symptoms.
The median time from primary melanoma diagnosis to brain metastasis was 3.2 years (range, 0–29.8 years), and the median time from stage IV diagnosis to brain metastasis was 2 months (range, 0–103 months).
Level 1: Melanoma is confined to the epidermis (the outer layer of the skin). Level 2: Melanoma has invaded the papillary dermis (the outermost layer of the dermis, the next layer of skin). Level 3: Melanoma has invaded throughout the papillary dermis and is touching on the next, deeper layer of the dermis.
With stage IV metastatic melanoma, the cancer has spread to distant regions of the body, mostly commonly the liver, lungs, bones, gastrointestinal tract, and brain. Your doctor will look at two factors to determine how advanced a stage IV melanoma has become. One is the location of the distant tumors.