{"id":5436,"date":"2011-02-22T18:54:41","date_gmt":"2011-02-22T17:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T11:39:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T10:39:23","slug":"melanoma-differential-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/melanoma\/melanoma-diagnosis\/melanoma-differential-diagnosis\/","title":{"rendered":"Differential diagnosis of melanoma"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"im26-diagnosis-guide\">\n<nav class=\"im26-dg-toc\" aria-label=\"On this page\"><strong>On this page<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#guide-section-1\">Lesions that may look alike<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#guide-section-2\">How assessment works<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#guide-section-3\">Avoid misleading shortcuts<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#guide-section-4\">When to seek advice<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<section id=\"guide-section-1\" class=\"im26-dg-section\">\n<h2>Lesions that may look alike<\/h2>\n<p>Possibilities include melanocytic and blue naevi, pigmented seborrhoeic keratoses, solar lentigines, vascular lesions, dermatofibromas, bleeding beneath the skin and other skin cancers such as pigmented basal cell carcinoma. This is not an exhaustive list.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"guide-section-2\" class=\"im26-dg-section\">\n<h2>How assessment works<\/h2>\n<p>The doctor considers onset, changes, symptoms and injuries, examines the lesion and may use dermoscopy. Histological examination is performed when necessary. A comparison table cannot replace this process.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"guide-section-3\" class=\"im26-dg-section\">\n<h2>Avoid misleading shortcuts<\/h2>\n<p>Do not assume a spot is harmless because it followed an injury, is blue or seems to fade with pressure. There is no universal rule that a bruise or injured mole must return to normal within ten days. Persistent or suspicious changes need assessment.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"guide-section-4\" class=\"im26-dg-section\">\n<h2>When to seek advice<\/h2>\n<p>Contact a doctor about a concerning new lesion, one unlike the others, one that changes or one that bleeds. If uncertainty remains, ask how it will be resolved and when the next steps will happen.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<aside class=\"im26-dg-related\">\n<h2>Continue reading<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/melanoma\/melanoma-diagnosis\/\">Melanoma diagnosis<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/melanoma\/melanoma-diagnosis\/dermoscopy\/\">Dermatoscopy<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilmelanoma.com\/en\/melanoma\/melanoma-diagnosis\/abcde-rule\/\">ABCDE rule<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n<section class=\"im26-dg-sources\">\n<h2>Sources and update<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/dermnetnz.org\/topics\/melanoma\" rel=\"noopener\">DermNet \u2014 Melanoma<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.airc.it\/cancro\/informazioni-tumori\/guida-ai-tumori\/melanoma-cutaneo\" rel=\"noopener\">AIRC \u2014 Melanoma cutaneo<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Editorial update: 16 October 2026. This information provides guidance and does not replace a medical assessment.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Different skin lesions can look similar. Differential diagnosis is the process clinicians use to assess possible explanations for a finding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"parent":5443,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5436","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Differential diagnosis of melanoma<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The differential diagnosis of melanoma refers to the set of conditions that may have similar signs and symptoms to melanoma, and therefore must be considered when trying to establish a definitive diagnosis.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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