Melanoma’s Hidden Toll in Skin of Color
Source: Medscape, May 2025
ATHENS, Greece — Although melanoma occurs much more frequently in people with lighter complexions, people with darker skin are also at risk, according to experts who spoke at the 11th World Congress of Melanoma and 21st EADO Congress 2025 on the challenges of diagnosing the condition in patients with dark skin.
“Melanoma is colorblind,” said Willie Visser, MD, head of dermatology at Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa, presenting during the session.
Having lighter skin color is a major risk factor for melanoma, but “there is no such thing as safe skin type,” agreed co-presenter Dagmar Whitaker, a dermatologist at Cape Town Dermatologists in South Africa. “Don’t trust your instinct when it comes to dark skin. Just because it’s rare, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”