Be careful to any new mole or spot that appears on your skin, as researchers suggest most cases of skin cancer come from such new formations instead of being caused by an already existing mole on a person’s skin. Also, those patients who eventually develop melanoma from an existing mole have a better prognosis than the others.
More melanoma cases from newly-appeared moles
People are used to checking their existing moles and paying attention to any changes that might occur. However, researchers from the University of Modena, Italy, warn us to be more careful with our skin, and perform better checking. They observed how more melanoma cases are caused by new spots on the skin rather than already existing moles.
Also, patients who came up to develop melanoma from preexisting skin spots have a better evolution of the disease. This means they are more careful with monitoring their skin, and are quicker to observe or to intervene when something’s wrong. The earlier the detection is, the easier it is for the doctors to treat it.
People should closely monitor their skin for any changes
Therefore, they warn all patients to familiarize themselves with all the moles and spots on their body. Besides looking at changes which might occur with these, they should also look for anything new that might appear.
For the study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, researchers reviewed 20,126 cases of melanoma. Only 29 percent of these cases were tied to an existing mole, while the rest of 71 percent appeared after new skin signs had occurred.
Therefore, all people who enjoy sunbathing should constantly monitor their skin, and ask someone to inspect certain hard-to-see areas, such as the back. Whenever you observe any small change, you should go see a specialist. The chances to cure the disease are much bigger if you detect the melanoma early.
Image Source: Health.mil
