General Information About Nail Tumors
Disease Details and Frequently Asked Questions
They are abnormal cellular clusters originating from under or around the nail tissue, leading to the distortion of the nail's shape and color.
It is a benign (non-cancerous) tumor originating from the neuromyoarterial glomus bodies beneath the nail. Its most distinguishing clinical feature is the excruciatingly severe PAIN, enough to make the patient jump, triggered by exposure to cold water or even minimal localized pressure.
It is a highly dangerous and insidious form of skin cancer. Its most significant warning signs include black/dark brown streaks (Hutchinson's sign) that begin as a thin line extending from the root of the nail to its tip and progressively thicken, or non-healing pigmented lesions beneath the nail plate.
A dermatologist magnifies and examines the nail utilizing a dermatoscope. If there is clinical suspicion of malignancy (or in the case of a painful glomus tumor), the nail plate is avulsed, and the subungual mass is surgically excised completely under local anesthesia and sent for histopathological examination (biopsy). Benign tumors are completely cured via surgery, whereas a melanoma diagnosis necessitates wider surgical excision margins and subsequent oncological follow-up.
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