What Stage Is Melanoma In Lymph Nodes

Symptoms Of Metastatic Melanoma Other Than A Mole

Other symptoms of this type of cancer may not appear until a later stage, when the melanoma has metastasized to another area of the body. Metastatic melanoma most often spreads to the lymph nodes, brain, bones, liver or lungs, and the additional symptoms experienced at this late stage will depend on where the melanoma has spread. For example:

• Lungs A persistent cough or shortness of breath
• Brain Headaches or seizures
• Lymph nodes Swelling of the lymph nodes
• Liver Loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss
• Bone Bone pain or unusual fractures

What Are The Melanoma Stages And What Do They Mean

Early melanomas

Stage 0 and I are localized, meaning they have not spread.

• Stage 0: Melanoma is localized in the outermost layer of skin and has not advanced deeper. This noninvasive stage is also called melanoma in situ.

• Stage I: The cancer is smaller than 1 mm in Breslow depth, and may or may not be ulcerated. It is localized but invasive, meaning that it has penetrated beneath the top layer into the next layer of skin. Invasive tumors considered stage IA are classified as early and thin if they are not ulcerated and measure less than 0.8 mm.

Find out about treatment options for early melanomas.

Intermediate or high-risk melanomas

Localized but larger tumors may have other traits such as ulceration that put them at high risk of spreading.

• Stage II: Intermediate, high-risk melanomas are tumors deeper than 1 mm that may or may not be ulcerated. Although they are not yet known to have advanced beyond the primary tumor, the risk of spreading is high, and physicians may recommend a sentinel lymph node biopsy to verify whether melanoma cells have spread to the local lymph nodes. Thicker melanomas, greater than 4.0 mm, have a very high risk of spreading, and any ulceration can move the disease into a higher subcategory of stage II. Because of that risk, the doctor may recommend more aggressive treatment.

Learn more about sentinel lymph node biopsy and melanoma treatment options.

Advanced melanomas

How Fast Does Melanoma Grow

Some types of melanoma can grow very quickly, becoming life-threatening in as little as six weeks. If left untreated it can spread to other parts of the body.

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. See your doctor immediately if you notice any of these changes.

Its also important to note that while sun exposure is a major risk factor in melanoma, the disease can develop in parts of the body that get little or no sun exposure.

Recommended Reading: How Aggressive Is Merkel Cell Carcinoma

Don’t Miss: Melanoma Stage 3 Symptoms

Number Of Metastatic Lymph Nodes Involved

If the melanoma has spread to the lymph nodes the risk of spread to other parts of the body is higher. The greater the number of lymph nodes containing melanoma, the less favourable the prognosis.

A sentinel node biopsy is a technique used to determine whether melanoma cells have spread to lymph nodes at the time of diagnosis of the skin primary lesion. The procedure involves the injection of a radioactive tracer by a radiologist , to show where the site and lymph node where the lymph fluid from the skin at the primary melanoma will flow. Afterwards, at the same time as the extra surgery for the primary melanoma a blue dye is injected around the site of the primary lesion. Using the guide from the radiologist a surgeon looks for the first lymph node to take up the dye. The lymph node is removed and sent to be examined by a histopathologist to determine if the node tests positive for melanoma. The procedure is considered when the Breslow thickness of the melanoma is more than 0.8mm.

Patients may develop lumps in the lymph node regions such as the neck, armpit and groin. This is lymph node metastasis.

What Are Signs Of Satellite Metastasis And In

You may be able to see or feel satellite or in-transit metastases.4 Metastases in the skin may be red or black.3 They may be as small as 0.2 cm or up to 2 cm. These lesions may look like a bump or may be flat.3 Some ulcerate and look like open sores.5

Metastases under the skin look like lumps.5 They may be blue or skin-colored. Sometimes they are painful. Often they are painless.

Don’t Miss: Ductal Carcinoma Survival Rates

Symptoms If Cancer Has Spread To The Brain

You might have any of the following symptoms if your cancer has spread to your brain:

• headaches
• weakness of a part of the body
• fits
• personality changes or mood changes
• eyesight changes

• J Tobias and D HochhauserJohn Wiley and Sons Ltd

• TNM Staging ChartsLippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2009

• Improving supportive and palliative care for adults with cancerNational Institute for Clinical Excellence , 2004

• Oxford Textbook of Palliative MedicineEds D Doyle and othersOxford Universty Press, 3rd edition 2005

• Cancer and its Management J Tobias and D HochhauserWiley Blackwell, 2015

Stage I And Stage Ii Melanomas

Making a melanoma diagnosis means gathering as much information about your skin cancer as possible. One key step is determining the cancers stage, which is a measure of the amount and severity of cancer in the body. Staging helps your doctor understand how best to treat the cancer, and is used when discussing survival rates.

Following stage 0 , the degrees of melanoma range from stage I through stage IV, with higher numbers indicating further spreading of the cancer throughout the body.

There are three factors commonly used to determine melanoma staging, and theyre represented by the TNM system. The first factor is the severity of the primary tumor , which includes how thick the tumor is and whether the skin covering it has broken. The second factor is whether the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes . The third factor is whether the cancer has spread, or metastasized , to lymph nodes farther away in the body or other organs.

Also Check: What Is Stage 2 Squamous Cell Carcinoma

What Does Lentigo Maligna Look Like

Lentigo maligna presents as a slowly growing or changing patch of discoloured skin. At first, it often resembles common freckles or brown marks . It becomes more distinctive and atypical in time, often growing to several centimetres over several years or even decades. Like other flat forms of melanoma, it can be recognised by the ABCDE rule: Asymmetry, Border irregularity, Colour variation, large Diameter and Evolving.

The characteristics of lentigo maligna include:

• Large size: > 6 mm and often several centimetres in diameter at diagnosis
• Irregular shape
• Variable pigmentation colours may include light brown or tan, dark brown, pink, red or white
• Smooth surface.

Treating Stage I Melanoma

Stage I melanoma is typically treated by wide excision . The width of the margin depends on the thickness and location of the melanoma. Most often, no other treatment is needed.

Some doctors may recommend a sentinel lymph node biopsy to look for cancer in nearby lymph nodes, especially if the melanoma is stage IB or has other characteristics that make it more likely to have spread. You and your doctor should discuss this option.

If the SLNB does not find cancer cells in the lymph nodes, then no further treatment is needed, although close follow-up is still important.

If cancer cells are found on the SLNB, a lymph node dissection might be recommended. Another option might be to watch the lymph nodes closely by getting an ultrasound of the nodes every few months.

If the SLNB found cancer, adjuvant treatment with an immune checkpoint inhibitor or targeted therapy drugs might be recommended to try to lower the chance the melanoma will come back. Other drugs or perhaps vaccines might also be options as part of a clinical trial.

Also Check: Skin Cancer Perineural Invasion

Melanoma In The Lymph Nodes

If your lymph nodes feel normal but a sentinel lymph node biopsy shows that a small number of melanoma cells have spread there, you might have either:

• regular ultrasound scans to check your lymph nodes
• treatment with targeted cancer drugs or immunotherapy

You dont usually have surgery to remove the rest of the lymph nodes in this situation, except in specific circumstances. Your doctor will talk to you about this.

Some people may decide to have ultrasound surveillance of their lymph nodes instead of having a sentinel lymph node biopsy. In this case, you usually have regular ultrasound scans over 5 years. You may need a biopsy if there is a concern that melanoma is in your lymph nodes.

What Are Lymph Nodes

Lymph nodes are small structures that filter substances and help fight infection. They are part of a network that runs throughout the body. Cancer that reaches the lymph nodes is concerning because cancer cells can easily spread to other parts of the body through this interconnected system.

Whether or not a melanoma spreads to one or more lymph nodes, it also may affect nearby skin. Such melanoma tumors are called satellite tumors. They’re defined as being within 2 centimeters of the original tumor and can be seen without a microscope.

Melanoma tumors also may spread to lymphatic channels, thin tubes that resemble blood capillaries, through which lymph fluid flows.

Don’t Miss: Can You Die From Squamous Cell Carcinoma

What Happens If Melanoma Gets Into Lymph Nodes

If the melanoma has spread into the lymph nodes, it means cancer has spread beyond its original site . It will need a more aggressive line of management.

Melanoma is a rapidly progressive type of skin cancer. The treatment of melanoma depends on the stage of the disease. Lymph nodes are small glands that are part of the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is involved in the formations of the white blood cells or WBCs. It is also the site where lymph, a clear fluid containing the white blood cells, is filtered. When melanoma begins to spread, it often first goes to the lymph node near the melanoma. The first lymph nodes that drain lymph fluid from the primary tumor are called sentinel lymph nodes. If the melanoma has spread to the lymph nodes, it means that the person has stage III melanoma. Knowing the stage of melanoma helps the doctor plan the appropriate treatment. If the tumor has spread to the lymph nodes, the person may need a major surgery that involves the removal of the affected lymph nodes besides the primary tumor.

What Kind Of Treatment Will I Need

There are many ways to treat melanoma. The main types of treatment are:

• Surgery

Most early stage melanomas can be treated with surgery alone. More advanced cancers need other treatments.

The treatment plan thats best for you will depend on:

• The stage of the cancer
• The results of lab tests on the cancer cells
• The chance that a type of treatment will cure the melanoma or help in some way
• Your age

Read Also: What Is Soft Tissue Carcinoma

You May Like: Basal Cell Carcinoma Late Stages

Dormancy In Metastatic Melanoma

The time period between removal of the primary tumor and subsequent recurrence of disease is referred to as metastatic dormancy. In melanomas, a period of dormancy may end with the emergence of recurrent disease at a metastatic site and only rarely at the site of the primary tumor. Melanomas, as well as some other cancers, such as prostate and some types of breast cancer, often have very protracted courses in which metastatic disease does not manifest until years or even decades after removal of the primary tumor. Clinically localized melanoma can recur after disease-free intervals of 10 years or more . In fact, a subset of melanomas will have ultra-long dormancy with recurrence greater than 20 years later . Other tumor types, such as lung and pancreatic adenocarcinomas tend to follow a much swifter clinical course in which discovery of the primary tumor and subsequent metastasis is often a temporally contiguous event . While these differences in metastasis patterns may in part reflect differences in detection amongst different cancer types, it has also been proposed that such observations suggest that certain tumor types might gain full metastatic competency earlier in tumor progression .

You May Like: What Is The Leading Cause Of Skin Cancer

Merkel Cell Carcinoma: A Rare Skin Cancer On The Rise

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare type of skin cancer that affects about 2,000 people in the United States each year.

Though its an uncommon skin cancer, cases of Merkel cell carcinoma have increased rapidly in the last couple of decades.

This type of cancer starts when cells in the skin, called Merkel cells, start to grow out of control.

Merkel cell carcinomas typically grow quickly and can be difficult to treat if they spread.

They can start anywhere on the body, but Merkel cell carcinomas commonly affect areas exposed to the sun, such as the face, neck, and arms.

They may look like pink, red, or purple lumps that are firm when you touch them. Sometimes, they can open up as ulcers or sores.

Risk factors include:

Recommended Reading: Basaloid Tumor

Lymph Node Dissection Or Completion Lymphadenectomy

An operation to remove the remaining lymph nodes in the group is known as a completion lymph node dissection or completion lymphadenectomy. Again, you should discuss the pros and cons of the procedure with your surgeon.

Other tests you may have include:

Cancer Research UK has more information about test to diagnose melanoma and tests to stage melanoma.

What Is Stage Iii And Stage Iv Melanoma

Stage III and Stage IV melanoma is also sometimes called advanced melanoma, or secondary melanoma. This is when the melanoma has grown beyond the skin and has either spread to your lymphatic system that is, melanoma cells can be found in your lymph nodes or has spread beyond the regional lymph nodes to other parts of your body .

When the cancer spreads or metastasises to other parts of the body, away from the original site, the cells still have the characteristics of a melanoma even though they may now be growing somewhere else. The most common sites of melanoma metastases are in vital organs , bone, soft tissues and distant lymph nodes .

Recommended Reading: Carcinoma Cancer Symptoms

What Affects The Chance Of Recovery

Certain factors affect prognosis and treatment options.

The prognosis and treatment options depend on the following:

Although many people are successfully treated, melanoma can recur . In recurrent melanoma, the cancer may come back at the original site or in other parts of the body, such as the lungs or liver.

When Melanoma Spreads To The Lymph Nodes

One of the main ways melanoma spreads is through the lymphatic system part of your immune system. The lymph system carries disease-fighting white blood cells to and from your bloodstream, to all parts of your body. Cancer cells can enter the lymph system and get carried to lymph nodes far from the original cancer. Melanoma that has spread to one or more lymph nodes is stage III cancer.

Read Also: Invasive Breast Cancer Survival Rates

How Do I Know If I Have Metastatic Melanoma

Most commonly affecting the skin, melanoma may first appear as an unusual mole that is asymmetrical, has a ragged border, has uneven coloring, is large in diameter or evolves over time. Other symptoms include a patch of scaly skin, a sore or itchy bump or a discoloration under the fingernails. Although the signs of early-stage melanoma are more clear-cut and visual, symptoms of metastatic melanoma will depend on where the cancer has spread. For example, melanoma that has spread to the lungs may result in a chronic cough, while cancer that has spread to the stomach may cause a loss of appetite or unexpected weight loss. Other generalized symptoms may include fatigue, headaches or swelling of the lymph nodes. It is important to note that there are many other, more common conditions that can cause similar symptoms. Therefore, it is important to consult with a physician who can perform the diagnostic tests necessary to confirm a metastatic melanoma diagnosis.

Recommended Reading: What Does Early Squamous Skin Cancer Look Like

Melanoma In The Area Between The Primary Melanoma And The Nearby Lymph Nodes

You usually have surgery to remove satellite or in-transit metastases. If youre not able to have surgery you might have one of the following:

• laser surgery using a carbon dioxide laser
• injecting treatment directly into the melanoma , for example talimogene laherparepvec
• chemotherapy combined with an electric current
• chemotherapy directly into the leg or arm where the melanoma is
• targeted cancer drugs

• Find out about the different treatments for melanoma

Don’t Miss: Melanoma On Nose Prognosis

Clinical Stage Iv Melanoma

Detection of early stage IV metastasis plays a role in palliative care but has not been associated with a better treatment outcome. Patients with known systemic metastases should be evaluated more comprehensively because the likelihood of detecting additional asymptomatic lesions is high. These patients should be staged with MRI of the brain and CT of the chest and abdomen. CT of the pelvis is indicated for patients with a history of primary tumours below the waist or with symptoms indicating metastatic involvement. Other imaging studies should be ordered based on symptoms . Serum LDH should be determined in all patients as it carries prognostic significance .

PET scans often show a greater sensitivity for the detection of metastases when compared with conventional radiographic studies . In a series of 100 patients with stage IV disease, 415 metastatic lesions were evaluated with PET and routine CT scans . The PET scan detected 93% of lesions and, in 20 patients, it detected 24 metastases up to 6 months earlier than conventional imaging or physical examination . However, PET without concurrent CT may only complement routine imaging studies rather than replace them. Therefore, we generally recommend complementing conventional CT/MRI imaging with integrated PET/CT in the staging work-up of patients who have solitary or oligometastatic disease where the issue of surgical resection is most relevant.