Malignant melanoma – current state of diagnosis and treatment

Abstract:

Malignant melanoma is one of the most aggressive tumors in humans and accounts for 80% of skin cancer deaths. Its incidence has been steadily increasing over the last 40 years. In 2017, the incidence rate of melanoma in Croatia was 19.5 per 100,000 persons. Today, melanoma is considered to be a multifactorial disease resulting from the interaction of genetics and the environment. Ultraviolet radiation is an important risk factor for developing melanoma, therefore sun protection is necessary. Based on clinical and histopathological findings, four types of primary cutaneous melanomas are distinguished: superficial spreading melanoma, nodular melanoma, lentigo maligna melanoma and acral lentiginous melanoma and several other variants which are less common in clinical practice. The TNM grades melanoma into one of four stages, and further treatment depends on the stage. Early melanoma is primarily treated with surgery, while the treatment of metastatic melanoma has been a subject to significant changes over the last decade.

Key words:
diagnosis; melanoma; skin; skin neoplasms; therapy