Dark patches on the sole or heel often go unnoticed because they do not hurt or itch and can be difficult to see. But they may indicate melanoma, a form of skin cancer that can progress and spread to other organs.
Specialists at Vietnam’s National Hospital of Dermatology described cases in which delayed consultation or inappropriate self-treatment worsened patients’ conditions. A man nearing 60 had a painless black spot on his left sole for two years and did not seek care. A woman over 80 developed a pigmented spot on her left heel and later soaked it in tobacco-leaf liquid at home after it ulcerated. A biopsy following surgery confirmed melanoma.
In another case, a woman over 70 had a pigmented lesion on her right heel removed at a district facility after it was diagnosed as a callus. It returned three months later, ulcerated and began discharging fluid. Antibiotics prescribed elsewhere for a suspected skin infection did not help. At the national hospital, a 4 × 3.6 cm black lesion was identified as melanoma.
