Of the three types of skin cancer, melanoma is the most serious. It is more common for melanoma to spread to other parts of the body. When this occurs it gets hard to treat the body and rid it of the cancer. This is why prevention and early detection are key to surviving melanoma. A way to establish the full extent of a suspicious looking mole or mark on the skin is to have a melanoma biopsy. This is often done after a first consultation with a skin cancer professional and confirms the initial diagnosis. It can also provide information on the spread of the cancer and possible treatment.

The aim of the biopsy is to take a sample of the suspicious tissue for a more rigorous diagnosis. This can be done by completely removing all the suspicious tissue. This is called a excisional biopsy. The other method is to take a small sample of the suspicious tissue leaving the rest intact on the skin. This is known as incisional biopsy.

Incisional biopsies are generally only used on sensitive parts of the body, like the face, where a large wound or scar may cause further distress. Excisional biopsies are used in most other cases. They are preferred because they remove all the growth. This makes sense because if the growth is diagnosed as cancerous it would have to be removed anyway.

The process of taking a sample or removing the growth is fairly straightforward. It can be performed in the doctors clinic or at a skin cancer center. The patient remains conscious throughout the procedure and a local anesthetic is applied to the part of the body where the growth is located.

The removed cells are sent to a pathologist who will examine them more closely. The pathologist will determine if the cells are malignant. The depth of the growth will also be established and this will give the doctor a better idea of how far the cancer has progressed and possible treatments.

A biopsy is the best way to determine whether an unusual mark on the skin is actually cancerous. It is only performed after a first examination of the mark by a skin specialist who suspects that it could be cancerous. The information returned from the biopsy can be used to formulate a treatment plan for the disease and an indication of the extent that it has progressed.

Early and conclusive detection of melanoma growths are vital to treating the disease effectively. If found early, the tissues can be cut out. If it has spread then aggressive cancer treatments may be required.