Further tests for melanoma
This page tells you about further tests for melanoma skin cancer. There is information about
Further tests for melanoma
If you are found to have melanoma, your doctor will check how deep the melanoma is. The deeper the melanoma has grown, the more likely it is that they could have spread somewhere else in the body. You may need some more tests to find out whether the melanoma has spread.
Tests you may have
In most cases you will only need blood tests and a chest X-ray. If you have particular symptoms that your specialist thinks need investigating, you might have a scan.
Sentinel node biopsy
If you have any lymph nodes near the melanoma that are enlarged, your specialist will want to remove them. If your lymph nodes seem normal, you may have a sentinel node biopsy. Your doctor uses a dye injected close to the tumour to find the first lymph node the dye reaches. This is the sentinel node. Your doctor will remove it and send it off to the lab. If it contains cancer cells, you will need another operation to remove the other lymph nodes in the area.
After the tests
Your test results are bound to take a little time, even if only a day or two. You will probably feel very anxious time during this time. It may help to talk to a close friend or relative about how you are feeling. Or you may want to contact a cancer support group to talk to someone who has been through a similar experience.
You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the Diagnosing melanoma section.
If you are found to have melanoma, your doctor will check how deep the melanoma is. The depth of the melanoma in the skin affects how likely it is to come back and whether it may spread.
If the melanoma cells are only in the surface layers of the skin then the melanoma is very unlikely to have spread anywhere else. Removing melanoma at an early stage can cure most people and you will not need to have further tests.
If the melanoma is in the deeper layers of skin it is possible that the melanoma cells could have spread somewhere else in the body. Your doctor may ask you to have some tests. The tests help your doctor find out whether the melanoma has spread into lymph nodes close to the melanoma or to areas such as the lungs or liver. Which tests you have will depend on the depth of the melanoma and where it is on your body.
The tests you may have include
Usually, you only have a chest X-ray and blood tests. You don't need other tests unless you have particular symptoms that your specialist thinks need to be looked into.
If any lymph nodes near the melanoma are enlarged, or otherwise look abnormal, your specialist will want to remove them. The lymph nodes will be examined in a lab to see if they contain any melanoma cells. But if your lymph nodes all seem normal, it is not a good idea to remove them. Instead, your doctor may offer you a sentinel node biopsy. This is a newer type of test. It aims to find out whether tiny groups of melanoma cells have spread into the lymph nodes. You have this test under general anaesthetic.
The sentinel node is the lymph node (or group of lymph nodes) which drains tissue fluid from the area containing the melanoma. Your doctor finds the sentinel node using X-rays and a dye that is injected into the area of the tumour. On the X-ray screen your doctor can see the first lymph node the dye reaches. This is the sentinel lymph node. Your doctor removes the node and sends it off to the laboratory to see if it has any cancer cells inside. Then you are brought round from the anaesthetic. You may have to wait up to a week for the results.
If any melanoma cells have broken away from the tumour, they are most likely to get trapped in the sentinel lymph node. Research seems to show that it is unlikely for melanoma cells to bypass this node and get into the other nearby nodes. So if there are no cancer cells in the sentinel node, there are unlikely to have spread into other nodes. If the sentinel node didn't contain any cancer cells, you won't need to have any other lymph nodes removed. If the sentinel node contained melanoma cells though, you will have to go back to the hospital for another operation. Your surgeon will then remove the other lymph nodes in the area because they may also contain melanoma cells.
Sentinel node biopsy is being tested because it could be a more certain way than needle biopsy of finding out whether cancer cells have spread to your lymph nodes. A possible disadvantage of sentinel node biopsy is that the sentinel node may not contain melanoma cells while there are cancer cells in the other nodes. This is not very likely if the sentinel node is clear, but it is still a possibility.
We know that sentinel node biopsy is a useful way to find the stage of melanoma - it can tell you whether your melanoma has spread to the lymph nodes. But it is not a treatment for the melanoma itself.
You will be asked to come back to the hospital when your test results have come through. This is bound to take a little time, even if only a day or two. You will probably feel very anxious time during this time. While you are waiting for results it may help to talk to a close friend or relative about how you are feeling. Or you may want to contact a cancer support group to talk to someone who has been through a similar experience. There are organisations all round the UK that have trained counsellors who can give you support. Look at our melanoma organisations page for details of people you can contact if you have issues you want to talk over with someone trained to help you.
Increase text
Decrease text
Print this page
