The Dermatology Blog

The ABCDE method to screen for melanoma simply means that a mole that meets any of these criteria should be examined by a physician:
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Here is an excellent melanoma skin cancer website for patients as well as physicians. It provides good information about risk factors, moles and nevi, development of melanoma, diagnosis, staging, and treatment.

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Think that mole is too small to be a melanoma? Think again.

How far away is your dermatologist? Farther distances lead to thicker melanomas.

Is it normal for moles to change during pregnancy? No.

A common screening measure for determining if a mole is skin cancer is if the size is larger than 6 mm in diameter. This corresponds to the size of a pencil eraser.

However, new research has shown that at least in one study 55% of the melanomas were actually smaller than 6 mm in diameter. Although the commonly cited ABCDE (asymmetry, border, color, diameter, and evolving) guide to determining if a mole is suspicious is helpful, it is imperfect.

Unfortunately, melanoma is actually becoming more common; in fact, according to the National Cancer Institute:

In the United States … the percentage of people who develop melanoma has more than doubled in the past 30 years.

The good news is that melanoma is the only deadly cancer that can be diagnosed just by examining the skin. If you have a new, changing, or suspicious mole, even if it is smaller than a pencil eraser, then have it checked as soon as possible by your dermatologist.

Even a small melanoma is a melanoma.

It is a widely held belief that moles or nevi change during pregnancy. However, there is no convincing evidence to support this. There are many changes that happen to a woman’s skin when she is pregnant. She may develop melasma, brown splotches on her face, or linea nigra, brown pigmentation on her belly. She may also develop benign growths such as skin tags or angiomas.

It might be that some of these skin changes are misinterpreted as changes in the size or color of already existing moles. Also, since women’s skin stretches during pregnancy, moles might appear to be growing or spreading. This is not the same as a mole actually changing. According to an new review published in the December 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology:

The best data available … suggest that nevi do not typically change over the course of pregnancy; therefore a changing nevus during pregnancy should undergo biopsy, just as in a nonpregnant patient.

If you are pregnant, or are a physician who has a pregnant patient with a changing mole or nevus, then it should be evaluated by a dermatologist. Though uncommon, a new or changing nevus, can be a melanoma skin cancer.