Mole change

Question 1

Examining pigmented lesions

Answer 1

Asymmetry
Border irregularity
Colour variation (shades of brown, black sometimes patches of pink, red, blue, white)
Darkness (melanomas are often very dark) / Diameter > 6mm
Evolution

Question 2

Mole

Answer 2

Melanocytic naevus

Types: junctional, intradermal, intermediate, compound

Question 3

Tx

Answer 3

URGENT EXCISION

Check for spread - lymph nodes, hepato / splenomegaly?

Question 4

Dysplastic naevi

Answer 4

On a continuum of progression from benign naevus to melanoma

Question 5

Staging

Answer 5

Breslow Thickness - mm from the granular layer in the epidermis to the deepest layer on invasion of the dermis - major determinant of prognosis. Margins of excision based on this

TNM staging based on this and other features - evidence of mitoses, ulceration, lymph node involvement and evidence of distance metastases)