How do you diagnose melanoma?

Biopsy: Any suspicious looking skin lesion, esp if it grows fast or changes in color or starts bleeing, needs to be biopsied. It will reveal melanoma if present.

Biopsy: As noted above, but also the acronym abcd is helpful to see which lesions should be biopsied: a- asymmetry, b-irregular borders, c-varied color, d- diameter >6mm.

Skin biopsy: A small biopsy is performed on the skin lesion and this is sent to a trained pathologist who examines the skin and give a diagnosis.

Needs a Biopsy: Melanomas need to be excised as a biopsy as the diagnosis is from the pathological analysis. Clinical exam alone is not sufficient for a diagnosis.