Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer. Often the first sign of melanoma is a change in the size, shape, color or feel of a mole. Most melanomas have a black or black-blue area. Melanoma may also appear as a new mole. It may be black, abnormal or "ugly looking."

Thinking of "ABCD" can help you remember what to watch for:

• Asymmetry - the shape of one half does not match the other
• Border - the edges are ragged, blurred or irregular
• Color - the color in uneven and may include shades of black, brown and tan
• Diameter - there is a change in size, usually an increase

Melanoma can be cured if it is diagnosed and treated early. If melanoma is not removed in its early stages, cancer cells may grow downward from the skin surface and invade healthy tissue. If it spreads to other parts of the body it can be difficult to control.

Melanoma is basically a skin disease typical to youth, but Melanoma may occur in people at any age. Melanoma is a type of skin cancer hich usually starts in the skin, either in a mole or in normal-looking skin. About 7000 people in the UK are diagnosed with melanoma each year. It begins in skin cells called melanocytes. Melanocytes produce the substance that gives your skin its color. Although the number of people who develop melanoma is rising, it is still an uncommon type of cancer. The body is made up of many types of cells. Normally, cells grow, divide and die. Sometimes, cells mutate (change) and begin to grow and divide more quickly than normal cells. 

Causes of Melanoma 

The main causes of Melanoma are: UV radiations and skin cancer - UV radiation is one of the prime cause in formation of this disease. 

Other factors in melanoma 

1) Tanning salons also expose your body to UV radiation and increase your risk of developing melanoma
2) Heredity- A small percentage of people who develop melanoma have a family history of the disease. Having a parent, child or sibling with melanoma greatly increases your risk. In addition, some families are affected by a condition called familial atypical multiple mole melanoma (FAMMM) syndrome. 
3) Combination of environmental and genetic factors.
4) Atypical moles
5) an impaired immune system, especially if you have had an organ transplant, leukemia, or lymphoma. 

Treatment of Melanoma 

Treating melanomas that have spread beyond the skin 

• Surgical removal. It's very difficult to cure melanomas that have spread beyond the skin. But surgically removing a melanoma that has spread (metastatic melanoma) can often provide relief of symptoms - sometimes for years. Whether this is an option for you will depend on where the cancer is located and how severe it is, as well as on your own wishes and overall health. 
• Chemotherapy. This form of treatment uses drugs to destroy cancer cells. Two or more drugs are often given in combination and may be administered intravenously, in pill form or both - usually for four to six months. Melanoma has long been thought to be resistant to most forms of chemotherapy, but new chemotherapy regimens are being studied and developed. In the meantime, chemotherapy is sometimes used to relieve symptoms in people with advanced metastatic melanoma. 
• Radiation therapy. This treatment uses high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells. It's sometimes used to help relieve symptoms of melanoma that has spread to another organ. Fatigue is a common side effect of radiation therapy, but your energy usually returns once the treatment is completed. 
• Biological therapy (immunotherapy). This form of treatment is designed to help your immune system fight disease. It involves the use of biologic response modifiers (BRMs) - substances your body normally produces in response to infection. BRMs such as interleukin-2 and interferon are now produced in laboratories for use in treating cancer and other diseases. 

• Gene therapy. An area of great interest among researchers, this therapy generally focuses on adding genes to cancer cells. One approach, which has had limited success, is to replace some of the damaged genes that seem to be responsible for abnormal cell growth. 

The incidence of melanomas has increased 300% in the past 40 years. Melanomas affect approximately 54,000 people in the U.S. and result in over 8,000 deaths each year. Individuals who are most susceptible to this tumor are those with fair complexions, red or blond hair, blue eyes, and freckles, and who tan poorly and sunburn easily. 

The tumor can affect people of all ages and it has distinct clinical features that make it possible to cure it by surgical excision alone. An increase 
in size or change in color is noted by the patient in 70% of early lesions. 
There are four types of cutaneous melanoma: 

1. Superficial spreading melanoma 
   
2. Lentigo maligna melanoma 
   
3. Acral lentiginous melanoma 
   
4. Nodular melanoma