Melanoma Week 2

Building on what I discussed in my first blog post, I wanted to delve deeper into what exactly Melanoma looks like on the surface level, beyond just the cell samples that I am working with.

Melanoma is the existence of atypical moles which show unexpected change or growth. The types of Melanomas are Cutaneous Melanoma (melanoma of the skin), Mucosal Melanoma (melanoma of mucous membranes), Uveal Melanoma (melanoma of the eye), and Acral Melanoma (melanoma of skin in some soft regions). Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, with reportedly one person dying of Melanoma every hour every day. Incidence of Melanoma is 20x more common in whites than African Americans, with family history playing a role in its onset. 96,480 people are anticipated to be diagnosed with new types of Melanoma this year alone. The region most plagued by Melanoma is Australia. In America, the predicted fatalities for 2019 is 7000 people. In Australia, this number will presumably be much higher. Melanoma is a severe disease that needs to be studied in depth in order to prevent it from continuing down this disastrous path. 

This is what Cutaneous Melanoma looks like. The abnormal figure and size of this mole is what makes Melanoma easily detectable. It is the most common type of Melanoma.

This is what Mucosal Melanoma looks like. It is a large mole found in the mouth, and is again, easily detectable.

This is what Acral Melanoma looks like. It is found in areas such as feet, fingers, palms, and around fingernails/toenails. It is a very rare form of Melanoma.

This is what Uveal Melanoma looks like, and as visible, it is the melanoma of the eye. It is again, very clear in this image that this person is dealing with a case of Melanoma.

With this information, I acquired a better understanding of the physical/phenotypic aspect of the genetic-level research I will be doing over the course of the next few months.

Citations:

Arrangoiz, Rodrigo & Dorantes, Joel & Cordera, Fernando & Muñoz Juarez, Manuel & Moreno Paquentin, Eduardo & Luque-de-León, Enrique. (2016). Melanoma Review: Epidemiology, Risk Factors, Diagnosis and Staging. Journal of Cancer Treatment and Research. Volume 4. Pages:1-15. 10.11648/j.jctr.20160401.11.

“Types of Melanoma.” Melanoma Research Alliance, www.curemelanoma.org/about-melanoma/types/.

Coutinho-Camillo, Cláudia & Lourenço, Silvia & Soares, Fernando. (2017). Head and Neck: Primary oral mucosal melanoma. Atlas of Genetics and Cytogenetics in Oncology and Haematology. 10.4267/2042/62511.