What should you know about melanoma foreskin?

Pigmentation on the foreskin can be benign, but a lesion deserves attention when it is new, uneven, enlarging, bleeding, itchy, tender, or fails to heal. Melanoma is diagnosed from tissue rather than from colour or symptoms alone. A clinician will inspect the penis and surrounding skin, ask about its timeline, and decide whether a biopsy is needed.

The location can make self-examination difficult, and embarrassment may delay care. A private, respectful examination is routine. If a biopsy confirms melanoma, the report helps the team plan local treatment and decide whether additional staging is useful.

Book a prompt appointment with a dermatologist, urologist, or clinician familiar with genital skin. Keep the area clean and avoid irritating creams, bleaching products, or attempts to cut off a lesion. Record changes in size, colour, surface, bleeding, and discomfort. Tell the clinician about recent irritation, infection, or injury, because these can alter the appearance without explaining every persistent lesion.

Possible care includes surgical excision or other skin cancer surgery, tailored to the lesion and biopsy result. Sentinel lymph node biopsy or immunotherapy may be discussed only when the clinical and pathology findings support them.

Arrange prompt review for a dark or multicoloured spot that is changing, a firm lump, an open sore, recurrent bleeding, or a lesion that does not settle. Seek urgent help for heavy bleeding, inability to pass urine, rapidly increasing swelling, or severe pain. These symptoms require assessment without assuming that melanoma is the cause.

What features make this lesion concerning? Is a biopsy needed, and how will you protect healing and function? What did the pathology show? Do I need examination of nearby lymph nodes or further staging? How should I monitor the area after treatment?