About lentigo maligna melanoma

Breast cancer is not the only disease with increasing incidence in the medical world. Lentigo maligna melanoma is a type of skin cancer that has been diagnosed many times in the last couple of years. Every year, around 60.000 new cases are being diagnosed, which makes this condition among the most frequent types of cancer in the world. This skin cancer is more frequent in women than in men, and in most cases it affects females between the age of 25 and 30. In this article, you can read about these disease’s symptoms, whether or not the patient can spot them and how you can protect yourself from this skin condition.

About the lentigo maligna melanoma condition

Doctors have hard time spotting this cancer with the naked eye, because at first it looks like a freckle. In 30 percent of the cases, this condition arises on the head and neck, but other parts of the body are sometimes affected as well. Lentigo maligna melanoma was first described in 1890 by Sir John Hutchinson and that is why many doctors refer to it as Hutchinson melanotic freckle. When it was first detected, it was thought that it was an infectious disease because of its fast progression, but nowadays we know that it affects chronically damaged skin tissues. Many doctors appear to think that this condition is not actually melanoma, but a sign or precursor of the disease. However, because of the disease’s fast progression and growth, it is treated as invasive melanoma. People with fair skin are at greatest risk, but severe sunburn, frequent sun exposure and ultraviolet radiation exposure are the biggest factors in developing this skin cancer.

Lentigo maligna melanoma – epidemiology and evaluation

Since this condition is predisposed for patients with severe skin damage from ultraviolet exposure, people living in Australia and Hawaii are the ones at the biggest risk. Lentigo maligna melanoma counts for 15% of all melanomas in Australia and mostly patients over the age of 40 years are being diagnosed with this condition. Sun and ultraviolet exposure is not the only factor that can indicate the presence of this skin cancer. This skin disease is associated with other health conditions as well, such as Basal cell carcinoma, Porphyria cutanea tarda and Tyrosine-positive oculocutaneous albinism. The Werner syndrome and Xeroderma pigmentosum may be the triggers for melanomas too, but people with pale skin and natural red hair are especially advised to avoid occupational exposure and frequent sunburns.

Lentigo maligna melanoma management

Lentigo maligna melanoma might be present in the body years before the actual diagnoses. Thorough and complete physical examination is needed if the doctor suspects the presence of this cancer in a patient. This cancer usually metastasizes in the brain, lungs and liver and the sooner it is diagnosed, the sooner it can be treated with surgery. If the surgical procedure is not possible for the patient, immune response therapies are available. Cryotherapy and radiotherapy are advised, but many doctors advice against radiotherapy because it may miss the focal point of this skin cancer. 5% topical imiquimod creams have been proven to be effective in many cases, but your doctor can tell you which treatment option will be best with your condition.