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Melanoma diameter
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Melanoma diameter

› Forums › Cutaneous Melanoma Community › Melanoma diameter

  • Post
    • February 25, 2017 at 7:50 pm
    Zay95
    Participant
      Do you feel that that ‘D’ for diameter isn’t useful for melanoma diagnosis?!
      Just wondering, what was the diameter of your melanoma at the time of diagnosis? Was your mole growing in diameter or stayed the same size?
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    • Replies
        • February 25, 2017 at 7:57 pm
        jennunicorn
        Participant

          I think the majority of melanomas tend to grow larger on the surface, which is why it's a good indicator to get a mole checked out if it starts to grow. Mine started out as a tiny pink dot, like a bug bite, and then grew over a few months to be about the size of a dime and to be dark brown. I don't think there is a specific diameter that would indicate a definite melanoma. For those that get nodule melanoma it's definitely not a good indicator since those can be very small in diameter. 

          The biggest thing to remember is watching for CHANGE. Maybe "diameter" doesn't change but the mole starts to itch and bleed, that by itself would be a good reason to get it checked out. Or, maybe a mole only gets a bigger in diameter, but looks fairly even, it is still reason to get checked out. Not all of the ABCD criteria are going to apply to everyone, but if anything starts to CHANGE, then it's time to biopsy, no matter what the other letters say.

            • February 25, 2017 at 8:03 pm
            Zay95
            Participant
              So, is nodular melanoma usually small in diameter?
              • February 25, 2017 at 8:07 pm
              jennunicorn
              Participant

                Compared to superficial spreading, I believe so, because it presents as a raised nodule, like a dome. And some superficial spreading mels can get quite large in diameter, but can also never spread further than the top layer of skin. That's why diameter isn't always the best indicator, it's more about change. If it doesn't change, I wouldn't worry. If it starts to change, I get it checked out. That's my rule of thumb.

              • February 25, 2017 at 10:08 pm
              Janner
              Participant

                About 70% of melanomas are superficial spreading.  The next largest category is Lentigo Maligna Melanoma.  Both can often grow larger than a pencil eraser because both tend to spread on the surface first before going deeper.  So for the majority of melanomas, diameter can be telling.  My 3 SSM primaries were all larger than 6mm but they all changed which, for me, was the more telling factor.  So for me, a small lesion doesn't rule out melanoma but a larger lesion can be higher risk.  The only factor I look at singly is "E" for evolving.  ABCD can make something more suspicious but E seals the deal for a biopsy.

                  • February 26, 2017 at 3:55 pm
                  AliCat61
                  Participant

                    Diameter is less important than depth for nodular melanoma. Nodular melanoma is different from other melanoma because it produces small tumors or nodules that grow down into the skin rather than spreading across the skin. My husband had a 5mm deep melanoma on the lower right part of his face that looked like nothing more than a raised red bumpy patch. 

                    • February 26, 2017 at 10:28 pm
                    Janner
                    Participant

                      Diameter is not important for staging with ANY type of melanoma – only depth.  As a warning sign, diameter can play a role.  Nodular is a small subset of most melanomas so while it isn't a useful warning sign for that particular type of lesion, for 80+% of melanomas, diameter (along with other factors) can be indicative of a suspicious lesion. 

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