Glossary ABCDEs: Signs to look for during a monthly skin check. Stands for: Asymmetry, Border, Color, Diameter, Evolution. Acral or subungual melanoma: Melanoma under fingernails or toenails. Biopsy: A way that doctors remove cells or tissue to be looked at under a microscope. Clark level: A staging system that describes how deep melanoma has grown into the skin. This number is different than the stage of cancer. Dermatologist (skin doctor): Doctors who diagnose and treat skin disorders. Dermis: The 2nd layer of skin under the epidermis. Epidermis: The outer layer of the skin. Excision biopsy: A doctor uses a surgical blade to remove an oval-shaped concerning area of skin that removes the entire area as well as a border of normal skin, called a margin, to be looked at under a microscope. Full-body skin exam: A dermatologist (skin doctor) does a visual exam of a person’s entire body to look for unusual spots or areas of skin that could be signs of skin cancer. In-situ: When abnormal cells that could become cancer are found only in the place where they began, and haven’t spread to nearby tissue. Also called stage 0 cancer. Lymph nodes: Small glands in our bodies that filter germs and help fight infection. We have lymph nodes all over our bodies, but they’re mostly in our neck, armpits, and groin (pelvic area). Melanocytes: The cells that color our skin. Melanin also gives our eyes and hair their color. Our freckles and moles are dense clusters of melanocytes, which make our skin appear darker. Metastasis: The spreading of cancer. When cancer cells spread beyond where they began into distant parts of the body. Also called stage 4 (IV) cancer. Mucosal melanoma: Melanoma in mucous membranes, such as the mouth, sinus cavity, genitals, or digestive tract. Ocular or uveal melanoma: Melanoma in the eye. Oncologist (cancer doctor): Doctors who diagnose and treat cancer.
Pathologist: A doctor with special training in finding diseases by looking at biopsy samples under a microscope. In skin cancer, the pathologist might be called a dermatopathologist. Punch biopsy: A doctor presses a round blade into the skin to remove an entire mole or area, to be looked at under a microscope. Recurrence: Cancer coming back. Resectable: Able to be removed by surgery. Self skin check: Checking your own skin for concerning or changing areas of skin, usually once a month. Sentinel lymph node: The first lymph node or nodes that cancer is most likely to spread to from the primary tumor. Sentinel lymph node biopsy: Biopsy (removal of cells or tissue) of the lymph node the cancer is most likely to spread to first. Shave biopsy: Doctors use a surgical blade to remove a sample from the top layer of skin to be looked at under a microscope. Staging: A way doctors describe cancer and where it is in the body. TNM: System used to decide the stage of cancer. Stands for: Tumor thickness, Nearby lymph nodes, Metastasis. Ulceration: A sore or break on the skin. UV (ultraviolet) rays: Invisible electromagnetic radiation from the sun or tanning beds that can damage skin cells and lead to skin cancer. Wide local excision: A melanoma treatment that involves surgery to remove the cancer and some surrounding, healthy tissue. This lowers the chance of the melanoma coming back. 1. SEER*Explorer: An interactive website for SEER cancer statistics [Internet]. Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute; 2024 Apr 17. [cited 2024 May 3]. Available from https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/ html/melan.html. Data source(s): SEER Incidence Data, November 2023 Submission (1975-2021), SEER 22 registries. 2. American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2024. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2024. Data sources:
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