Five stages of melanoma Based on this information, doctors give the cancer an overall stage. There are five stages of melanoma, with some of the stages split into sub-groups:
STAGE WHAT IT MEANS Stage 0
Called “in-situ.” Cancerous cells are present, but they are in the first layer of skin, called the epidermis, and have not spread to other parts of the body. Cancer cells are now deep enough to reach the second layer of skin, called the dermis, but have not spread to other parts of the body. In stage 2, the depth of the tumor is deeper and/or there is some ulceration in the tumor. Ulceration happens when the skin over the tumor is broken down or bleeding. If present, the pathologist will include this in the pathology report. Ulceration can also happen in stage 1 melanoma, but it is less common.
Stage 1 1A and 1B Stage 2 2A, 2B and 2C
Stage 3 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D
The cancer has spread to local (nearby) lymph nodes.
Stage 4
The cancer has spread to distant lymph nodes or other parts of the body. This is called metastasis.
Stages use roman numerals like this:
The higher the number and the letter, the larger the tumor and the more it has spread to nearby tissue. So, stage 1 tumors have spread less than stages 2–4 tumors.
Stage I
l Stage 1
Stage II
l Stage 2
Stage III
l Stage 3
Stage IV
l Stage 4
The Clark level measures how deeply the melanoma has grown into your skin. It uses roman numerals, just like staging does, but these are different. It is important not to mistake the Clark level number for the stage of melanoma.
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