SKIN AND CANCER CENTERS OF NEW YORK & CALIFORNIA
            Consultations: 212-949-0393

Every skin cancer diagnosis begins with a thorough examination of the skin growth or pigmented lesion under a bright light. If Board Certified Dermatologist, Board Certified Dermatopathologist Babar Rao, MD sees anything to arouse suspicion, a biopsy will then be performed. This is the most accurate diagnostic test and is almost invariably done.

The goal is to totally remove the skin cancer. At the start of the skin cancer diagnosis procedure, a local anesthetic is usually administered by a fine needle. Then the tissue is surgically removed with a scalpel. If the lesion is small, the physician may cut through the full thickness of the skin down to the underlying fat, and take some of the surrounding skin as well; in such cases, the tumor might be removed in its entirety. If the tumor is more extensive, only a small sample of the involved area will be surgically excised. The wound may then be closed by suturing (stitching).

You are in excellent hands with Board Certified Dermatologist / Dermatopathologist Babar K. Rao, MD, FAAD:
Board Certified Dermatologist (Skin cancer speciality)
Board Certified Dermatopathologist
Assistant Clinical Professor: Division of Dermatology
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
American Board of Dermatology
American Board of Dermatopathology
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director - Melanoma Pigmented Lesion Center
General Dermatology Program
Photochemotherapy Program
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital - New Brunswick 
American Academy of Dermatology
American Medical Association
American Society of Dermatopathology
Association of Professors of Dermatology
International Society of Dermatology
International Society of Dermatopathology
New York State Society of Dermatology
Pakistan Association of Dermatology
Ecuadorian Dermatological Society (Honorary life time membership)
1st world Congress on Dermoscopy, Consensus Board Member

The biopsy sample (specimen) is sent to a pathology laboratory where it is prepared and stained for examination under the microscope. The finding as to whether the lesion is benign or malignant is then provided to the Board Certified Dermatopathologist Babar Rao, MD. If it is malignant, the cancer is classified according to type and thickness. Most melanomas are recognized in this way.

In rare instances, the diagnosis is not clear cut. Certain moles mimic the appearance of melanoma, and certain melanomas mimic the appearance of other cancers or even of benign moles. In such cases, microscopic examination is not conclusive. To establish the diagnosis, a number of highly sophisticated stains have been developed. These stains make use of antibodies, which are formed as an immune response to the antigen or molecule on the surface of the tumor cells. An antibody attaches itself only to one type of antigen. Therefore, a number of different antibodies are tested to see whether reactions to any of the antigens expressed by the tumor cells take place.

The laboratory report provides information to the physician on how far the melanoma has advanced and how serious it is. This knowledge is essential in determining the extent of the treatment that will be undertaken

You may hear about the use of dermoscopy as a diagnostic tool. (Dermoscopy is occasionally referred to by another name, epiluminescence microscopy.) Some physicians are employing this technique before deciding to perform a biopsy. This procedure, which is painless, makes use of a new instrument, the dermoscope. It can provide the physician with more information than is obtained with the naked eye.

Oil is spread on the pigmented lesion and the area around it to make the skin more translucent. One end of the dermoscope is pressed against the skin, and the physician looks at it through a lens with a magnification of 10. Because more light rays penetrate oil-covered skin, certain features of benign or malignant tumors become visible.

The features that can be identified with a dermoscope include such structures as a brown "network" resembling a fisherman's net, brown globules, black dots, and color variations.

If you have any questions about skin cancers -  Melanoma, Basal Cell Carcinoma, Squamous Cell Carcinoma -or any of our dermatology or dermatopathology procedures please feel free to contact Board Certified Dermatologist, Board Certified Dermatopathologist, Babar K. Rao, MD, FAAD at his Manhattan, New York, New Brunswick, New Jersey, or Fresno, California offices.