Do Not Let to Be Late: Overview of Reasons for Melanoma Delayed Diagnosis

Abstract

Melanoma of the skin is a malignant tumor, which incidence is still increasing. It was estimated that in theUnited States one person died from this cause every hour. The major risk factor of this disease is exposure toultraviolet radiation, especially associated with the occurrence of sunburns. Patients diagnosed with distantmetastases have median survival of 6-9 months. The aim of this paper was to identify the causes of delayeddiagnosis of melanoma as diagnosis at an early stage seems to be the key to improve the survival rates. For thispurpose, a search of medical databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar and Cancer Registers was conductedand an analysis of the literature from the years 1979-2013 was conducted.