A cancer specialist has highlighted the key warning signs of malignant moles – and debunked a common misconception about what’s normal. Dr James Wilson, a London-based oncologist, appeared on the Dr Hilary Show to discuss melanomas, which are among the most common types of cancer in the UK.
In an important appeal, he encouraged viewers to regularly check their moles using the ‘ABCDE’ checklist to ensure they’re benign. However, even if you’re familiar with these guidelines, it’s important not to overlook one lesser-known fact.
“If you have a mole that is changing, the checklist for melanoma is the A, B, C, D, E,” the oncologist said last month to Good Morning Britain’s Dr Hilary Jones. “So, ‘A’, if you are seeing any change in the appearance of your mole, you need to get it checked.
“‘B’ stands for border. If the border of a mole has become irregular, you need to, or sometimes it just gets a bit blurry, becomes a bit indistinct, go and see your doctor and have it checked out. ‘C’ is for colour, and people think, ‘Oh, it’s not getting darker, so it can’t be serious’. But actually, melanomas can become paler.”
As Dr Wilson points out, malignant moles can indeed be pale, even displaying unusual shades of pink, white or blue. While they are often mistaken for harmless scars or freckles, experts generally warn that they can be aggressive forms of cancer, so it’s vital to get them examined.
Spokespeople at the US-based City of Hope Cancer Centre explain: “Amelanotic melanoma is an aggressive type of skin cancer that doesn’t produce the pigment melanin, which gives most melanomas their dark appearance. As a result, they don’t look like other melanomas.
“…Amelanotic melanomas may be easily confused with basal or squamous cell carcinomas, or misidentified as harmless scars or moles, which is dangerous, because they often spread faster than the more easy-to-recognise melanomas.”
Similarly, Dr Wilson highlighted how a melanoma’s shape or colour might evolve, adding to his ABCD criteria with ‘D’ for diameter. And the rule of thumb for this is that pencil, the rubber at the end of your pencil.
“If your mole is of the diameter of that rubber, it probably needs to come off and be checked out. And ‘E’ is evolution… Anything that’s changing, anything that’s getting worse rather than better, needs to be seen by a doctor.”