Is laser treatment or surgical removal better for melanoma?

Written by Cui Fang Bo
Oncology
Updated on April 01, 2025
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Regarding whether laser treatment or surgical excision is better for melanoma, the answer is clear: surgical excision is better. Melanoma originates from melanocytes and is not limited to one layer of the skin. Therefore, for melanoma of the skin, the infiltration depth can sometimes be profound, reaching the dermis layer. Laser treatment sometimes only covers a superficial depth, which cannot achieve complete removal.

Surgical excision can completely remove deeper infiltrative parts of the melanoma, and after the excision, complete tissues can be obtained for pathological examination, which helps in staging after the surgery and guides treatment post-surgery. Laser treatment does not offer these benefits. Therefore, current guidelines recommend surgical excision for the treatment of melanoma and do not recommend laser treatment.

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Written by Zhu Rui
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Is melanoma easy to get?

Melanoma is not easy to contract, with relatively low incidence and mortality rates. Melanoma is a tumor derived from the malignant transformation of melanocytes, highly malignant, often occurring in the skin but also in mucous membranes, the choroid of the eye, the pia mater, and other various parts and tissues. In the Chinese population, it commonly appears on the extremities of the skin, such as the sole of the foot, toes, fingertips, and under the nails. According to global cancer statistics from last year, melanoma accounts for 1.6% of all new cancer cases. In China, the incidence and mortality rates of cutaneous melanoma are relatively low, with about one case per 300,000 people. In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the incidence of melanoma, which needs to be monitored carefully.

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Is there a possibility of curing melanoma with lymphatic metastasis?

Melanoma is a type of skin tumor caused by the excessive growth of melanin cells. For melanoma that has spread to the lymph nodes, surgical treatment is recommended, along with adjunctive radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which can effectively control the spread and metastasis of cancer cells. Traditional Chinese medicine can also be used in conjunction, which not only controls the growth of cancer cells but also mitigates the damage to the body from radiotherapy and chemotherapy. After treatment, patients should pay attention to their diet, exercise moderately, and maintain a good physical condition.

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Does melanoma feel painful when pressed?

Melanoma is a highly malignant skin cancer, and clinically, some patients may experience pain when pressing on the lesion area. The reason for the pain is mainly due to the rapid growth of the melanoma, leading to compression of local tissues or the optic nerve and urgency, resulting in a painful sensation. This pain can exist even without pressing, and ulcerative lesions can occur in some affected areas, leading to symptoms such as pain, bleeding, and infection. In addition to pain upon local compression, patients with melanoma may also experience inflammatory changes such as redness, swelling, heat, and pain, causing some clinical symptoms of fever.

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How to diagnose melanoma

For the judgment of melanoma as a malignant tumor, it cannot solely rely on clinical experience. Instead, the skin lesion should undergo surgical excision. During the surgery, freezing can be scheduled, and the results of the freezing report will determine the scope of the surgery. The final diagnosis still depends on the paraffin section. The diagnostic gold standard is based on the pathological results, and only a pathology examination can determine whether the lesion is a malignant melanoma. Diagnosing such diseases requires extreme caution due to their high malignancy and ease of metastasis, which can endanger life. Standardized surgical excision is necessary, supplemented by chemotherapy and other methods.

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Can melanoma be detected by ultrasound?

Melanoma is a very serious disease, and if detected in its early stages, treatment should be sought promptly. If treatment is delayed, the effects of treating the disease in its advanced stages are not very good or significant. Melanoma is a type of malignant tumor that is prone to occurrence and poses a significant risk, endangering life. Generally, if melanoma is being tested, the Vacca double PAP immunoenzymatic marking method is used for detection.