Testing for Skin Cancer Diagnosis & Medical Tests

Conditions & Diseases: Cancer

Skin Cancer

Medical Tests & Diagnosis Methods

Skin cancer can be detected through a skin examination. There are two types of skin examinations:

Self-examination: Performed by the patient before consulting a specialist if suspicious moles or lesions occur.
Examination performed by a specialist: During a skin examintation, a dermatologist uses a dermoscope (a microscope-like device) to closely examine the moles and skin lesions. In some cases, the doctor will take pictures of the suspicious moles or lesions and compare them during a follow-up examination in order to establish if there are significant changes.

If the doctor suspects that a mole or skin lesion is cancer, a biopsy will be performed. A biopsy is a diagnosis procedure that involves surgical removal of the whole lesion or only a certain amount of abnormal tissue for a microscopic laboratory investigation. For skin cancer, a biopsy is a minor procedure that is performed under local anesthesia.

There are three types of biopsies:

Excisional biopsy: The entire tumor with the surrounding skin is removed. This type of biopsy is performed when the tumor is suspected to be melanoma.

Incisional biopsy: Only a part of the lesion is removed. This type of biopsy is performed when the lesion is too large or the location requires a maximum tissue preservation.

Nail bed biopsy: This type of procedure is performed if the cancer might be located under the nail. This biopsy is performed in two steps: first, part or all the toenail or fingernail is removed and second, an excisional or incisional biopsy is performed to remove the suspected tissue.

The biopsy will determine if the tissue removed is cancerous or not, and also can establish the cancer cells type.

Article by Alina Morrow, MS
Medical Writer
OmniMedicalSearch.com

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Page Last Modified:
10/18/2010