How long will melanoma become malignant?

Written by Sun Ming Yue

Medical Oncology

Updated on September 12, 2024

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Melanoma is a malignant tumor caused by melanocytes in the skin and human organs. Cutaneous melanoma generally manifests as pigmented lesions that often change over many years or in a short period of time. Because of this, the risk period for melanoma varies in length, and it is uncertain how long it will take for the disease to develop. Melanoma is a malignant tumor with poor survival rates, and it is prone to aggressive metastasis. If metastasis occurs, the lifespan of the patient will be significantly reduced.

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The difference between melanoma and moles

Melanoma and moles are distinguishable; firstly, moles are generally smaller, while melanomas have a larger diameter. Secondly, the color of a mole is more uniform, whereas the color of a melanoma is inconsistent in depth. Furthermore, moles are typically symmetric in shape, while melanomas are asymmetric. Lastly, melanoma is a type of malignant tumor, whereas a mole is simply a skin condition.

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How long does it take for melanoma to develop?

The duration of melanoma development varies because melanoma is a type of skin cancer with a relatively high degree of malignancy. However, clinically, the types of melanoma are diverse, and the onset time generally correlates with the patient's clinical phenotype. For some superficial types of melanoma with low malignancy, it generally takes several years to develop. For highly malignant melanomas, the disease generally progresses rapidly within about six months to a year. Once melanoma progresses, it can affect multiple parts of the body and severely impact the patient's lifespan.

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Melanoma deterioration symptoms

Patients with early-stage melanoma generally experience symptoms such as moles rapidly growing larger, changing in shape and color. Slightly more severe cases may exhibit signs like itching and bleeding. If the melanoma progresses, it might lead to non-healing ulcerations, repeated occurrences of satellite lesions, regional lymph node metastasis, and migratory metastasis. In advanced stages, patients may experience bone metastasis pain. Lung cancer metastasis might manifest as coughing and coughing up blood, and symptoms can vary depending on the site of metastasis.

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Melanoma CT manifestations

The CT manifestations of melanoma vary depending on the location of the tumor. Generally, melanomas that occur on the skin can appear on CT scans as mass-like lesions, and the scans can show whether there are any urgent conditions involving the surrounding nerves, blood vessels, and tissues. Some patients may only show CT imaging changes such as localized thickening of the skin. In melanomas that occur inside the skull or in the vulva, the CT mainly shows localized mass-like lesions. These lesions are typically low-density foci with poor blood supply around them, and they generally have an irregular shape.

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Can melanoma without metastasis avoid chemotherapy?

For patients with melanoma that has not metastasized, direct surgical removal can be performed, and chemotherapy is not necessary after surgery. Melanoma is a malignant tumor that originates from melanocytes and can occur in many parts of the body, with melanomas of the skin and mucous membranes being the most common, accounting for about 70% of all cases. Once melanoma is diagnosed, if there is no distant metastasis to other organs, curative surgical removal can be performed. Postoperative treatment mainly involves immunotherapy, not systemic chemotherapy. For patients who are diagnosed with distant organ metastasis, systemic chemotherapy and immunotherapy are required.