The overall worldwide incidence of new cases of melanoma is increasing faster than any other cancer.
Cure rates remain high, however.
The likelihood of death from melanoma is declining, probably due to both earlier detection and improved therapy. In patients with a suspicious-appearing mole, the diagnosis of melanoma is established by biopsy. Depending upon size and location, the biopsy may remove all or part of the mole for pathologic evaluation. Once the diagnosis of melanoma has been established, the tumor is carefully examined to determine how deeply it has grown into the skin. The microstage has tremendous bearing upon type of treatment, prognosis, and survival, and is most often described in terms of Clark's level and Breslow thickness.