Melanoma is sometimes misdiagnosed as Blue Nevus

It has been reported that some patients have been misdiagnosed with Blue Nevus, when in fact the correct diagnosis in their specific case was Melanoma.

Melanoma is skin cancer that occurs due to overexposure to UV rays from the sun. Australasia has the highest rate of melanoma in the world with sixteen thousand cases diagnosed each year. Melanoma unlike most cancers rarely has any symptoms except for changes in an existing mole. Melanoma’s can be easily mistaken for multiple skin conditions like age spots, or keratosis. With early diagnosis the survival rate for melanoma is almost 100%. But if it is misdiagnosed and the cancer is able to metastasise and travel to other organs, the risk of death is almost 80%.

Always consult your doctor or health professional, and do not self diagnose.

Symptoms can include:

Asymmetrical shaped moles, moles with irregular borders, a change in an existing mole, new pigmented or unusual-looking growth on skin, multicoloured moles, moles with diameter larger than 6 mm, evolving moles

Symptoms are a guideline only and may apply to either the diagnosis or the reported misdiagnosis, or both. Consult your specialist for further information.

Further reference: