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Cuttack, Sept 22: If you have moles on your body, take a relook at them as doctors at SCB Medical College and Hospital have Malignant moles said changes in colour and size of moles could be symptoms of cancer.
Traditionally, people believe moles are signs of prosperity and for some it is genetically inherited.
A few, however, are aware that moles may become malignant to become cancerous.
When a mole increases in its dimension, it is called ‘malignant melanoma’ according to medical science.
SCB’s Plastic Surgery Department associate professor Bibhuti Bhusan Nayak says, “The parts of human body which are exposed to sunlight are prone to cancer. For, the ultra violet rays enter the skin due to the hole created in the ozone layer.”
According to Shrikant Patra, a doctor at the department, “The chances of malignant melanoma affliction are more in case of males than females.” The pigment cells are prone to affliction, he added.
Other physicians at the premier hospital opine that the disease can affect several other organs if melanoma comes in contact with blood vessels.
How to detect melanoma
If a mole changes its colour and size, and sometimes it turns into a wound, it can be termed as a melanoma, say Dr Patra and Nayak. According to Surgery Department’s associate professor Shrikant Kumar Panda, “One should immediately consult doctors if he/she finds moles on palms, soles of the feet and anus. The leg will be amputated if the sole of the foot is affected with melanoma.”
Treatment
“Melanoma, at initial stage, can be corrected through an operation. However, if it spreads to other parts of the body then we have to bank upon immunotherapy, biological therapy and chemotherapy,” says Patra.
Dr Panda, however, says in most cases it is the Plastic Surgery department takes up the cases. Conducting plastic surgery on the area affected with melanoma is a complex procedure and onco-surgeon has a major role to play in this connection.
Joint hairy nevus
“Joint hairy nevus or big patches of moles are portentous to cancer as there is presence of more melanosites in the area,” says plastic surgeon Dr Nayak.
Meanwhile, head of the oncology department at Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre Dr Padmalaya Devi said, “Operation is the simple way to get rid of this kind of a disease. One has to take resort to chemotherapy if the disease spreads to other parts of the body.”
So, it is essential to consult with doctors if there appears any marked change in size and texture of the moles, she added.
