Metastatic melanoma is the most severe stage of melanoma because it is characterized by the spread of tumor cells to other parts of the body, mainly to the liver, lungs, and bones, making treatment difficult and life-threatening.
This type of melanoma is also known as stage III melanoma or stage IV melanoma, and most often occurs only when the diagnosis of melanoma was late or not and the initiation of treatment was affected. Thus, as there was no control of cell proliferation, these malignant cells are able to reach other organs, characterizing the disease.
- Metastatic melanoma occurs primarily when melanoma is not identified at an early stage.
- When the diagnosis is not made.
- Or when treatment is not performed as it should have been.
- This promotes the proliferation of malignant cells.
- As well as their spread to other parts of the body.
- Such as lungs.
- Liver.
- Bones and gastrointestinal tract.
- Characterizing metastases.
In addition, certain factors may promote the development of metastatic melanoma, such as genetic factors, lighter skin, frequent exposure to ultraviolet rays, presence of primary melanoma that has not been eliminated, and decreased immune system activity due to other diseases.
Symptoms of metastatic melanoma vary depending on where metastasis occurs and may include:
In addition, you can see the characteristic signs and symptoms of melanoma, such as the presence of signs on the skin that have irregular edges, different colors and may increase over time. Learn to recognize the symptoms of melanoma.
Metastatic melanoma is incurable, but treatment aims to reduce the rate of cell replication and thus alleviate symptoms, delay the spread and progression of the disease and increase a person’s hope and quality of life.
Thus, depending on the stage of melanoma, your doctor may choose to perform target therapy, for example, which aims to act directly on the altered gene, preventing or decreasing the rate of cell replication and preventing disease progression. In addition, surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy may be recommended to try to remove scattered cancer cells. Understand how melanoma is treated.