How to Tell if Mole is Cancerous?

Mole removal begins with a comprehensive examination and consultation to determine the likelihood of a mole being worrisome. Excisional and incisional biopsies are reserved for suspicious moles. But it’s good news that most moles are not problematic and are only cosmetic, thus leading to the option of scarless or non-surgical mole removal with lasers and RF and plasma. Our office specializes in non-surgical mole removal.

Best,
Dr. Raffy Karamanoukian
Realself 100 Surgeon

I would encourage you to allow the lesion to heal and then carefully have it evaluated.  When evaluating a mole/lesion for skin cancer we refer to the ABCD's of melanoma.  The only way to know if a lesion cancerous or not is to get a biopsy.

Dr. Ebrahim checks suspicious moles using the ABCD rule: 
Asymmetry

Border

Color or color change

Diameter – diameter larger than .06 mm

Evolution of the mole- changing or evolving

Dr. Ebrahim, in her Dermatology clinic uses Dermoscopy to evaluate moles.  The dermatascope provides

10 times magnification which  allows her to see deeper structures of the mole.  Dr. Ebrahim recommends that you have any suspicious moles evaluated by a Physician for peace of mind. 

The only way to tell if a mole is cancerous is to find an experienced board certified dermatologist with a knowledge of skin cancer.  It sounds like the mole needs to be sent to the pathology lab to determine what exactly it is.  Try not to scratch it because this can make it appear more irritated or infected.

It would be a wonderful thing if we could know who are enemies are but just looking at them. Unfortunately, all the "bad" guys do not wear black hats, wear black sunglasses or stroke a white Persian cat while laughing demonically.  To recognize many skin moles based on their appearance requires years of medical training and seeing thousands of moles. But even then, surgeons may underestimate a and mistake a mole thinking it is benign when in fact it could be a cancer.

The BEST way to tell what a mole is is to have is removed surgically and have a trained skin Pathologist examine it under the microscope. This will almost always pick an early cancer and prevent a delay in treatment. Anything less than this is a bet that the mole is benign and a compromise of your care. I would have it biopsied by a dermatologist or a Plastic surgeon.

Dr. Peter A Aldea

See below for my live interview on MSNBC recently about how to tell if a mole is bad. The trouble with evaluating a recently picked or traumatized mole, is it really can look bad while healing, and then turn out fine, so don't panic. Allow a mole to heal if you know you have picked at it, and THEN evaluate it. If it doesn't heal normally, or looks different after healing than it did before, go to a dermatologist for a biopsy removal of it, so it can be sent in to have the tissue checked under a microscope.

Don't panic, most likely a picked mole doesn't change if it was benign before.

You can't tell on your own if a mole is cancerous. Refer to the answer above from Dr. Seify on the ABCD's of melanoma.
If the mole is new, it could be problematic. The appearance of the mole BEFORE your attempt to pick it off is the key.
In any event, you may have caused an infection so your best option is to visit with a dermatologist. Everyone should get annual skin cancer checks so perhaps this is your first reason to get that started.
Mole removal is accomplished in a variety of ways. One new system is a small 2mm ablative laser handpiece that is part of the Fraxel Repair laser system and is good for superficial mole removal as it reduces scar risk.
Deeper moles may still need to be surgically excised but a good cosmetic dermatologist of even plastic surgeon will be able to accomplish this with excellent results.

The famous ABCD system for melanoma detection was first proposed in 1985 and since that date, it helped in early detection of mailgnant transformation in pigmented lesions:A: Asymmetry of the lesion.B: Border varigation and uneveness.C: Color--darker colors, especially when a recent change occured, is considered as one of the most important signs.D: Diameter--Increase in size is also very important.In general, patients with large number of pigmented lesions are usually followed by their dermatologist and even photos will be taken for documentation. In case of doubt a quick biopsy is the safest thing to do.Hope that helps.