Biopsy of Suspected Melanoma

February 10, 2020

Abstract

A biopsy should be performed with relative promptness on any lesion that is clinically suspicious for melanoma, as early diagnosis is the key to a favorable prognosis. The gold standard for melanoma diagnosis is histologic assessment of a tissue biopsy specimen by a dermatopathologist or pathologist with experience in interpreting melanocytic lesions. The primary goal of a biopsy is to obtain a tissue sample that is sufficient to allow the pathologist to render an accurate histologic diagnosis and assess key prognostic features for microstaging, particularly tumor thickness, if the lesion is indeed melanoma. An accurate diagnosis and tumor microstaging in turn facilitates therapeutic planning with appropriate and expeditious treatment. In this chapter, we will describe important considerations when performing a biopsy of a lesion suspicious for melanoma, commonly used biopsy techniques, and their applications to maximize biopsy accuracy in the initial diagnosis of melanoma.

Source:

Smith N., Johnson T.M., Kelly J.W., Sober A.J., Bichakjian C. (2020) Biopsy of Suspected Melanoma. In: Balch C. et al. (eds) Cutaneous Melanoma. Springer, Cham

https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-030-05070-2_10