What is Melanoma?

Melanoma is a type of cancer that forms from melanocytes. Melanocytes are normal cells that are found in the skin. Melanocytes produce melanin, which is a pigment. This pigment gives skin and hair its color. Sometimes a more concentrated deposit of melanin can occur in the skin, resulting in a nevus or a mole.

Melanoma most commonly originates on the surface of the skin, but can also occur anywhere that there are melanocytes. When melanoma originates on the surface of the skin, it is referred to as cutaneous melanoma, which is a type of skin cancer. Other types of skin cancer include basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and Merkel cell carcinoma.

Cutaneous melanoma may originate on any part of the skin, most commonly on the back and lower legs, but also could originate with the nail beds, on the soles of the feet, or the scalp. In addition, melanoma may originate in a non-cutaneous location such as the eye or on mucosal surfaces, which include the sinuses, anal canal, rectum, and vagina.

More information can be found on our Penn Medicine site.