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- Blood and Other Tests
- • There are no blood tests available for screening or confirming the diagnosis of primary melanomas.
- • Tumor-associated antigens shed by the tumor are now being looked at as possible markers in the bloodstream, but
- results are inconclusive. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), which is found in several cancers, is not found in
- melanomas.
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- Biopsy
- • An adequate—in other words, an excisional—biopsy is necessary for diagnosis. Examination of the tumor under
- the microscope reveals characteristic melanoma cells , which are typically plump and usually contain dustlike
- grains of melanin pigment. The malignant melanocytes are seen to migrate into the dermis to various depths, where
- they are found singly, in small groups or in large aggregations. Immunological staining procedures with special
- antibody-carrying dyes are now available to confirm the diagnosis in cases that do not appear typical.
- • Shave biopsies are not recommended. They do not allow the depth of invasion into the skin to be determined, and
- this needs to be known to help predict whether the patient will be cured or has a risk of recurrence .
- • Cauterization or freezing should never be done. These procedures destroy the superficial part of the melanoma,
- making diagnosis and staging impossible. They also leave tumor cells in deeper locations at the site, which could
- later give rise to seeding of other parts of the body.
