What Does Skin Cancer Look Like? A Visual Guide

Melanoma often looks like a mole but with irregular features. Use the ABCDE rule: Asymmetry (one half unlike the other), Border irregularity (jagged or blurred edges), Color variation (mixed brown, black, red, white, or blue), Diameter over 6mm, and Evolution (any change).

Melanoma can also appear as: a new dark spot that keeps growing; a band of dark color under a fingernail or toenail; a sore that bleeds and does not heal; a dark streak in the nail. On darker skin tones, melanoma more commonly appears on palms, soles, and nails.

BCC is the most common cancer in humans. It typically appears as: a pearly or waxy bump, often with visible blood vessels; a flat, flesh-colored or brown scar-like lesion; a bleeding or scabbing sore that heals and then returns; a pinkish patch of skin.

BCC grows very slowly and almost never spreads to other parts of the body, but it can cause significant local damage if untreated. It occurs most often on sun-exposed areas: face, ears, neck, scalp, and shoulders.

SCC appears as: a firm, red nodule; a flat lesion with a scaly, crusted surface; a new sore or raised area on an old scar or ulcer; a rough, scaly patch on the lip that may progress to an open sore; a red sore or rough patch inside the mouth.

Unlike BCC, SCC can metastasize if left untreated, particularly in immunocompromised patients. SCC most commonly develops on sun-exposed skin but can occur anywhere, including the genitals.

Actinic keratoses (AKs) are the most common precancer. They appear as rough, sandpapery patches on sun-exposed skin — often easier to feel than see. AKs can progress to SCC if untreated. Having more than 10 AKs increases your risk significantly.

Bowen disease (SCC in situ) appears as persistent, scaly red patches that do not respond to topical treatments. These are essentially SCC that has not yet invaded deeper skin — catching them at this stage means simpler treatment.

Not every spot is cancer. These are almost never skin cancer: cherry angiomas (uniform bright red dots); seborrheic keratoses (waxy, stuck-on brown bumps); skin tags (soft, pedunculated growths); uniform freckles; stable moles you have had since childhood; spider veins.

The single best indicator of skin cancer is change. A lesion that is new, growing, bleeding, or otherwise evolving deserves evaluation — regardless of whether it matches a textbook description.

Skin cancer is less common in people with darker skin but often diagnosed later because both patients and doctors may not look for it. On darker skin, melanoma most commonly appears on areas with less pigment: palms of hands, soles of feet, under nails, and mucous membranes.

Bob Marley died from acral melanoma that started under his toenail and was initially dismissed as a sports injury. If you notice a dark streak under a nail, a non-healing sore on a palm or sole, or any persistent pigmented patch in these areas, see a dermatologist.