Skin Mapping

Melanoma, basaloma and squamous cell cancer are the main types of malignant neoplasms that affect the skin.

Mapping is indicated for all adult patients, since melanoma and other types of neoplasms occur even in young people. But it is possible to distinguish several categories of people who need to be regularly examined for skin cancer and update skin mapping:

• hose who like to sunbathe under natural sunlight and artificial light (in a tanning bed). Ultraviolet is a major provocateur factor for skin tumors.
• Light-skinned men and women with blond or red hair, freckles, gray or blue eyes. This is the main risk group, which is defenseless against aggressive solar radiation.
• Patients with aggravated heredity – if immediate relatives have been diagnosed with skin cancer.
• Skin mapping is necessary for persons over 50 years of age – they are prone to excess pigmentation and the development of malignant tumors in general.
• Women and men with a large number of moles – especially those that are irregularly shaped and convex.
• Patients diagnosed with precancerous skin diseases – actinic and senile keratoses, leukoplakia, pigmented xeroderma.

Skin mapping is recommended for everyone who has lived (or lives) for a long time in hot countries, has a weakened immune system, has been exposed to mechanical or chemical trauma, as well as prolonged exposure to chemical carcinogens.

Skin cancer is easy to diagnose because tumors are always accessible to visual inspection. An in-depth examination with skin mapping is only performed in a clinical setting, but it is possible to suspect the disease during a home examination.

Signs of neoplasms on the body:

• transparent or pink shiny nodules of increased density;
• nodules with clearly visible vascular stars – telangiectasia;
• plaques of pink or red color with ulceration in the upper part;
• scars with indistinct borders of reddish or flesh-colored;
• accumulations of dark pigment in the form of spots.

Any spots and moles with flaking, asymmetrical contours, bleeding and itching should be of concern. Any mole is capable of degenerating into cancer, so changes in color, contours, the appearance of discomfort in the pathological focus are also alarming signs. The development of the malignant process is also signaled by enlarged regional lymph nodes. In this case, the doctor can suspect a pathological process and send the patient to mapping.

The risk of melanoma is increased when there are 10 or more nevi on the patient’s body – moles with a diameter of more than 5 mm with irregular outlines and uneven coloring. A large number of pigment spots – a direct indication for a regular visit to the dermatologist with a diagnostic map of the skin. A dangerous sign – a sharp increase in the number of moles, even if a person was characterized by such features from early childhood.

Skin mapping is a new diagnostic method that has been actively introduced into medical practice over the past few years. Today, the method is available to patients at the A. Tsyb MRRC and P. Hertsen MORI – branches of the National Medical Research Radiological Centre (NMRRC) of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. The examination is performed on the FotoFinder bodystudio ATBM software and hardware complex. Combined diagnostic technique makes a diagnostic map of the skin based on the following data:

• whole body photography;
• automated video dermatoscopy;
• digital mapping of all detected lesions.

The key functions are entrusted to the high-precision digital dermatoscope. The optics of the device allows to obtain images of body areas in 140x magnification.

The device detects changes that are not visible to the naked eye, reveals pathological processes in the absence of complaints from the patient.

Skin mapping helps to examine all moles, record their current state and localization. Mapping results are recorded in the protocol and digitally stored to assess the dynamics – for each patient is a personalized file. During the next scan, the doctor can compare the new readings with the previous data obtained after skin mapping, and make a conclusion. The analysis shows how much the neoplasm has increased, whether it has not degenerated into cancer, whether new moles have appeared. This approach multiplies the successful detection of skin cancer cases at early stages.

What the mapping procedure can detect:

• Melanoma – the most dangerous malignant skin neoplasm;
• dysplastic pigmented nevus, a precancerous condition;
• pigmented nevus – a relatively safe, but capable of outgrowth tumor;
• general pathological processes affecting the skin;
• local changes in the projection of a single formation;
• signs of lichenization – thickening and dehydration of the skin, which may indicate oncology.

If the device detects suspicious neoplasms or pathological changes, the doctor can prescribe an in-depth study. Mapping helps to determine the treatment tactics of tumors – whether they need to be removed and what therapy program will be effective for this type of cells.

In addition to skin mapping, visitors to National Medical Research Radiological Centre (NMRRC) of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation have access to other diagnostic techniques in the field of oncodermatology. Among them:

• LED and digital dermatoscopy;
• biopsy of detected neoplasms;
• cytologic examination;
• biopsy of lymph nodes;
• fluorescence diagnostics;
• ultrasound examination;
• magnetic resonance and computer tomography.

All types of studies are aimed at a common result – early detection of cancerous tumors that affect skin cells.

If after skin mapping negative dynamics is detected and the oncologic diagnosis is confirmed, the doctors of the clinic are ready to carry out effective treatment.

The following have proven effective:

• surgical methods;
• laser coagulation;
• electrocoagulation;
• photodynamic and radiation therapy;
• chemotherapy with the use of cytostatic drugs.

The center employs highly qualified doctors who develop individual treatment programs and work with state-of-the-art equipment. Get skin mapping in our clinic to get a general impression of your health condition – to dispel fears or to detect pathological changes at an early stage, which is well amenable even to conservative treatment.