Often, only a biopsy is needed to diagnose melanoma. If pathology results show the melanoma is thicker, you will have blood tests or scans to find out more about the melanoma. You may also have these tests during treatment or as part of follow-up care after treatment finishes.
Imaging scans use different methods to create images of the inside of the body:
Ultrasound
The person doing the ultrasound will move a handheld device called a transducer across part of your body. The transducer sends out soundwaves that echo when they meet something solid, such as an organ or tumour. A computer turns the echoes into pictures.
CT scan
A CT (computerised tomography) scan uses x-ray beams to create detailed, cross-sectional pictures. Before the scan, you may have an injection of a liquid dye (called the contrast) to make the pictures clearer. The CT scanner is large and round like a doughnut. You will need to lie still on a table while the scanner moves around you.
MRI scan
An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan uses a powerful magnet and radio waves to create detailed cross-sectional pictures.
Before the scan, you may have an injection of a liquid dye (called the contrast) to make the pictures clearer. During the scan, you will lie on an examination table that slides into a large metal tube that is open at both ends. The noisy and narrow MRI machine makes some people feel anxious or claustrophobic. You may be offered headphones or earplugs to manage the noise, or prescribed medicines to help you relax.
PET–CT scan
A PET (positron emission tomography) scan combined with a CT scan is a specialised imaging test. You will be injected in the arm with a glucose solution containing a small amount of radioactive material. Cancer cells show up brighter on the scan because they take up more of the glucose solution than normal cells do.
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Prof H Peter Soyer, Chair in Dermatology and Director, Dermatology Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Diamantina Institute, and Consultant, Dermatology Department, Princess Alexandra Hospital, QLD; A/Prof Matteo Carlino, Medical Oncologist, Blacktown and Westmead Hospitals, Melanoma Institute Australia and The University of Sydney, NSW; Prof Anne Cust, Deputy Director, The Daffodil Centre, The University of Sydney and Cancer Council NSW, Chair, National Skin Cancer Committee, Cancer Council and faculty member, Melanoma Institute Australia; Prof Diona Damian, Dermatologist, Head of Department, Dermatology, The University of Sydney at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, NSW, and Melanoma Institute Australia; A/Prof Paul Fishburn, General Practitioner – Skin Cancer, Norwest Skin Cancer Clinic, NSW and The University of Queensland; Claire Kelly, National Support Manager, and Emma Zurawel, Telehealth Nurse, Melanoma Patients Australia; Prof John Kelly, Consultant Dermatologist, Victorian Melanoma Service, The Alfred Melbourne and Monash University, VIC; Liz King, Manager, Skin Cancer Prevention Unit, Cancer Council NSW; Lee-Ann Lovegrove, Consumer; Lynda McKinley, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council Queensland; Angelica Miller, Melanoma Community Support Nurse, Melanoma Institute Australia incorporating melanomaWA, and Cancer Wellness Centre, WA; Dr Amelia Smit, Research Fellow, Melanoma and Skin Cancer, The Daffodil Centre, The University of Sydney and Cancer Council NSW; Prof Andrew Spillane, Professor of Surgical Oncology, The University of Sydney, The Mater and Royal North Shore Hospitals, NSW, and Melanoma Institute Australia; Kylie Tilley, Consumer; A/Prof Tim Wang, Radiation Oncologist, Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre, Westmead Hospital, NSW. We also thank the health professionals, consumers and editorial teams who have worked on previous editions of this title.
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