What Are Non-Invasive Techniques Used To Detect Skin Cancer?

Image3The world has woken up to the realities of what spending too much time in the sun can do to your skin as more and more people are being diagnosed with skin cancer. While younger generations are slathering on sunscreen like it’s a moisturizer, we’ve also become more conscious of what we’re putting on our bodies with precision and analytics, as products with parabens are just as guilty of causing skin cancer as those nasty UV rays.

The techniques used to help with detecting skin cancer have also improved dramatically. While back in the day, the only option was to perform an excision; there are now many other ways dermatologists and other doctors are detecting skin cancer. In this article, we’ll examine the different non-invasive methods used to help detect melanoma and other skin cancers.

Non-invasive Methods

Thanks to the advancement of technology, not all methods of cancer detection require a biopsy, but here are some of the non-invasive techniques that doctors and dermatologists may use:

Physical Exam

The first thing that any medical professional will do to check for skin cancer is they will look at your medical history and then perform a physical exam. Your doctor should ask:

  • Have you been experiencing any different symptoms, such as changes in the size or appearance of the skin, itching, bleeding, or pain around the area?
  • Has anyone in your family had melanoma or other types of skin cancers?
  • Do you have a history of sun tanning or sunburns?
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During the physical, your doctor will look at the area of concern and take note of the shape, size and colour, as well as whether there is any bleeding, crusting or oozing. They may also need to feel your neck, underarms, or near the groin area and the area in question to check your lymph nodes.

Adhesive Patch Testing

Adhesive patch testing is when your doctor will apply a sticky patch to the area of the skin and then remove it. When it’s removed, some of your skin cells from the area in question will come off with it, and this sample will then be tested for particular gene changes that are associated with melanoma.

Dermoscopy

Dermatologists will often use a technique called dermoscopy (short for dermatoscopy, epiluminescence microscopy), which can help them take a closer look at any abnormal spots on your skin using a dermatoscope. A dermoscopy can often allow doctors to see some of the structures below the surface of your skin, which they may take digital images of to monitor if there are any changes over time and, therefore, help to determine if the area has melanoma.

Reflectance Confocal Microscopy

Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a technique that allows your doctor to observe the abnormalities of the skin to a certain depth and does not require them to cut into the skin. It uses a low-powered laser that enters the upper layers of the skin and reflects off of the structures. A special microscope will then detect the light from the laser as it bounces back and then create a detailed 3D image of the suspicious area and help determine whether a biopsy is needed. This technique is especially helpful for people with unusual moles, as it will help cut down on the amount of biopsies the patient needs.

Skin Biopsies

Should your doctor think that the area is melanoma, it will need to be removed and sent to a lab where it can be looked at from under a microscope. Surprisingly, there are a lot of different biopsies that your doctor could perform, which include:

  1. A punch biopsy
  2. A deep shave biopsy
  3. A fine needle aspiration biopsy
  4. An excisional biopsy
  5. A surgical lymph node biopsy
  6. A sentinel lymph node biopsy
  7. An incisional biopsy

Will I Need To Go For Imaging Tests?

Medical imaging can be extremely useful for helping doctors detect the spread of melanoma and other skin cancers.

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This is not typically needed for those who have very early-stage melanoma, as it’s not very likely that it has spread, but it is necessary when the melanoma has spread to the lymph nodes and the other organs in the body. Here are some of the different types of imagining tests that may need to be performed if this is the case.

  1. Chest X-rays
  2. Ultrasound
  3. CT scan
  4. MRI
  5. PET scan

If you need any imaging tests done, Mermaid Beach Radiology will be able to help you with some of the most innovative machines.

Final Thoughts

Skin cancer is not to be taken lightly; it’s still cancer. So, if you notice a difference in your skin or a mole that looks suspicious, going under the knife is no longer the only option to determine whether there is melanoma, as there are many alternative methods available. Don’t be scared rather, visit your doctor or dermatologist as soon as you can rather than wait for symptoms to develop.