Skin Cancer

Melanoma

Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment

Diagnosis

If your doctor suspects that a spot on the skin is melanoma, you will need a biopsy, which is the only way to make a definite diagnosis. In this procedure, your doctor tries to remove all of the suspicious-looking growth. If the growth is too large to be removed entirely, your doctor may remove a sample of the tissue. A biopsy usually can be done in the doctor's office using a local anesthetic. A pathologist then examines the tissue under a microscope to check for cancer cells.

Reviewed by health care specialists at UCSF Medical Center.
Last updated August 1, 2007