Melanoma

Melanoma is a form of cancer that begins in melanocytes (cells that make the pigment melanin). It may begin in a mole (skin melanoma), but can also begin in other pigmented tissues, such as in the eye or in the intestines.

What are Melanomas?

The treatment of melanoma may involve surgery, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or a combination of several treatment techniques. Each of these treatments is outlined below.

Melanoma Symptoms and Cause

How is Melanoma Diagnosed and Treated?

Melanoma Prognosis

Melanoma History

Melanoma Research

Choroidal Melanoma

Managing Choroidal Melanomas

Malignant Melanoma

Metastatic Melanoma

What are the Statistics of Melanoma?

Latest Melanoma News and Research

Fecal microbiota transplants can boost the effectiveness of immunotherapy in gastrointestinal cancers

Findings from a small, proof-of-concept clinical trial have suggested that fecal microbiota transplants (FMTs) can boost the effectiveness of immunotherapy in a range of gastrointestinal cancers.

25 Jul 2024

Study unveils key mechanisms behind colorectal cancer metastasis to the liver

In cases where cancer is fatal, nine out of ten times the culprit is metastasis.

24 Jul 2024

CD5 knockout using CRISPR boosts CAR T cell therapy efficacy

The effectiveness of CAR T cell therapy against a variety of cancers, including solid tumors, could be boosted greatly by using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to knock out the gene for CD5, a protein found on the surface of T cells, according to a preclinical study from investigators at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine and Abramson Cancer Center.

19 Jul 2024

Research may pave the way for systemic targeted therapy for patients with pseudomyxoma peritonei

Published in Clinical Cancer Research, results of a preclinical study led by investigators of the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology's (VHIO) Stem Cells and Cancer Group, headed by Héctor G. Palmer, pave the way for systemic targeted therapy in patients with pseudomyxoma peritonei, a rare form of cancer with very few therapeutic options available.

19 Jul 2024

FDA approval of lifileucel: A milestone in tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy for advanced melanoma

The recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of lifileucel, the first commercial tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy for advanced melanoma, marks a significant breakthrough in cancer therapy.

18 Jul 2024

ARPA-H funding boosts Wyss Institute's RNA therapeutic project

With the award for up to $27 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a collaborative research project at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University will advance a disease-agnostic novel RNA therapeutic with the potential to treat diverse diseases, and to be effectively and rapidly deployable.

15 Jul 2024

40% of US cancer cases linked to lifestyle choices

Nearly 40% of cancer cases and 44% of cancer deaths in 2019 were due to modifiable risk factors, with cigarette smoking as the leading cause. This study highlights the potential to significantly reduce cancer burden through lifestyle changes.

14 Jul 2024

Cellular immunotherapy offers hope for solid tumors

Early findings from a small clinical trial provide evidence that a new cellular immunotherapy approach may be effective in treating metastatic solid tumors. In the trial, researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) genetically engineered normal white blood cells, known as lymphocytes, from each patient to produce receptors that recognize and attack their specific cancer cells.

12 Jul 2024

Leveraging antibodies as a drug delivery mechanism may prove useful in the treatment of cancers

The primary goal in cancer drug research is not merely to discover compounds that can destroy cancer cells, but to develop methods that specifically target and deliver these agents to cancer cells, sparing healthy ones.

11 Jul 2024

Study: 40% of cancer cases in the U.S. attributable to modifiable risk factors

A new study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) finds four in 10 cancer cases and about one-half of all cancer deaths in adults 30 years old and older in the United States (or 713,340 cancer cases and 262,120 cancer deaths in 2019) could be attributed to modifiable risk factors, including cigarette smoking, excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, diet, and infections.

11 Jul 2024

Scientists identify over 5,000 genetic variants that enable certain cancers to thrive

Researchers performed saturation genome editing of the BAP1, whose dysfunction is related to cancer and impaired neurodevelopment.

10 Jul 2024

Scientists identify over 5000 high-risk cancer gene variants

Over 5,000 genetic variants that enable certain cancers to thrive have been identified by scientists, along with a potential therapeutic target to treat or even prevent these cancers from developing.

8 Jul 2024

Innovative aptamer cream shows promise in treating allergic contact dermatitis in mice

Researchers at the University of Bonn have isolated a DNA molecule that is suitable for combating allergic contact dermatitis in mice.

4 Jul 2024

Ribosomes and ZAK protein spur the cell's initial response to UV radiation damage

In a recent study, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine suggest the cell's messenger RNA (mRNA) -; the major translator and regulator of genetic material -; along with a critical protein called ZAK, spur the cell's initial response to UV radiation damage and play a critical role in whether the cell lives or dies.

2 Jul 2024

Ethanolic extracts from olive leaves show promise in combating cancer and infections

A recent study in Antioxidants reveals that ethanolic extracts from Greek and Spanish olive leaves exhibit high antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties, with Greek extracts showing greater efficacy. This suggests potential healthcare applications, particularly as antimicrobial agents and melanoma treatments.

30 Jun 2024

Live biotherapeutic product can improve clinical outcomes for patients with kidney cancer

Physician scientists from City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, found that people with metastatic kidney cancer who orally took a live biotherapeutic product called CBM588 while in treatment with immunotherapy and enzymatic tyrosine kinase inhibitors experienced improved health outcomes.

28 Jun 2024

Study identifies mechanism that impedes the effectiveness of melanoma therapies

In many cases of malignant melanoma, the effect of targeted treatment is lost over time. A research team from UZH and USZ has now discovered that a factor secreted by tumor cells is responsible for the resistance.

27 Jun 2024

Melanoma messages: Social media a useful tool for skin cancer communication

Researchers assessed health communication messages that effectively educate the public and raise intentions to get skin exams.

26 Jun 2024

New ULTRA-PTT technology enhances the performance of conventional photothermal therapy

Professor Jin-ho Chang's research team from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at DGIST (President Kun-woo Lee) developed "Ultrasound-assisted photothermal therapy (ULTRA-PTT)" technology that significantly enhances the performance of conventional photothermal therapy.

25 Jun 2024

Bridging knowledge and confidence to increase skin self-examinations

It's summer and time to enjoy the sunshine. But it's also important to do so safely. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States-;and it's most commonly caused by sun exposure.

24 Jun 2024