Types of melanoma

Here are the four main types of skin (cutaneous) melanoma:

• Superficial spreading melanoma is the most common type of skin melanoma. In women the most common place for it to start is on the legs, while in men it’s on the chest and the back. At first the melanoma cells usually grow slowly, spreading out across the surface of the skin.

• Nodular melanoma is the second most common type, but most thin melanomas aren’t nodular melanomas. It can grow more quickly than other melanomas and is usually found on the chest, back, head or neck.

• Lentigo maligna melanoma is usually found in older people, in areas of skin that have had a lot of exposure to the sun over many years (most often the face and neck). It develops from a slow growing precancerous condition called a Hutchison’s freckle, which looks like a stain on the skin.

• Acral melanoma is the rarest type and is usually found on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, under nails or toenails. It’s more common in people with black or brown skin and isn’t thought to be related to sun exposure.

Rarely melanoma can start in parts of the body other than the skin.