4/2007Melanoma malignum in general practice

PAWEŁ RAJEWSKI (Oddział Chorób Wewnętrznych, Wielospecjalistyczny Szpital Miejski w Bydgoszczy; Ordynator: dr n. med. Włodzimierz Rajewski)

Summary
Melanoma is a neoplasm arising from melanocytes. It is a one of the most malignant cancer and it can grow anywhere on the surface of the body, but some common sites are legs and back. Unfortunately we can observed increase in melanoma incidence for several dozen years. Many factors are known that increase the risk of neoplasmatic transformation of melanocytes f.e. childhood sunburn, UV radiation, genetic disorders, atypical nevi and many others. This sort of cancer is very difficult to treat, but it can be curred especially if detected early – excisional biopsy and dermatoscopy. Treatment of melanoma is mainly surgical operation, sometimes is combined with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. A new way of treatment melanoma is a biological therapy – immunotherapy.

Key words: melanoma, biopsy, dermatoscopy