D03: Melanoma in situ

D03.5: Melanoma in situ of trunk

The tissue in the body is made up of cells. Cancer causes the cells to change, resulting in them multiplying uncontrollably. This leads to a malignant neoplasm (abnormal growth of tissue) developing. This abnormal and excessive tissue growth is called cancer. In your case, the cancer is limited to the skin. This means that the cancer is very superficial and has not currently extended beyond a certain limit in the tissue. This also means the cancer has not yet been able to spread to other organs. However, the cancer cells can destroy the healthy tissue.

You often don’t get any symptoms with this early form of cancer. Melanoma is often visible as dark spots on the skin. This form of skin cancer is made up of certain skin cells that have a dark pigment in them.

The trunk includes the chest, back, abdomen, and pelvis. Various bones support the trunk. These are the spine, the ribs and the pelvic bones, for example. Most organs are in the trunk. These include the heart, the lungs and the kidneys, for example.