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Melanoma is the third most common type of skin cancer, but the one responsible for the most deaths. Other names for melanoma are malignant melanoma or melanoma skin cancer. It begins in melanocytes, which are the cells that give skin its color. Most melanoma tumors are brown or black.
Melanoma can occur anywhere in the body but most often appears on sun-exposed areas of the skin. Men usually get melanoma on the part of the body between the shoulders and the hips, called the trunk. They may also get it on their head or neck. Women usually get it on their arms and lower legs.
If not caught early, melanoma may spread quickly to other organs, such as the liver, lungs, or brain. If melanoma spreads to the liver, for example, the cancer cells in the new tumor are still melanoma cells. The disease is then called metastatic melanoma, not liver cancer.