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 Epidemiology

Melanoma History

Melanoma Research

Choroidal Melanoma

Managing Choroidal Melanomas

Malignant Melanoma

Metastatic Melanoma

Latest Melanoma News and Research

New peptide molecule offers hope for emphysema

Emphysema is a progressive, debilitating lung disease in which the lung's breathing sacs, or alveoli, enlarge, get thinner, and eventually are destroyed as the cells die off. It can be fatal, and there is currently no cure.

4 Aug 2020

ALKBH5 enzyme shows promising target for cancer immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy -; a treatment that better enables a patient's own immune system to attack tumors -; has shown great potential against some cancers. Yet immunotherapy doesn't work against all tumor types, and many patients who initially respond later develop resistance and relapse.

4 Aug 2020

A blood test may be an easy way to predict who will benefit from immunotherapy

A test which detects changing levels of tumour fragments in the blood may be an easy, non-invasive and quick way to predict who will benefit from immunotherapy, a treatment option for advanced cancers.

3 Aug 2020

Avoiding care during the pandemic could mean life or death

These days, Los Angeles acting teacher Deryn Warren balances her pain with her fear. She's a bladder cancer patient who broke her wrist in November. She still needs physical therapy for her wrist, and she's months late for a cancer follow-up.

31 Jul 2020

Immunosuppressive steroids help tumors to evade the immune system

A new study has revealed that tumors can evade the immune system by telling immune cells to produce immunosuppressive steroids.

30 Jul 2020

Study identifies potential drug targets for developing new cancer immunotherapies

A study has revealed that tumours can evade the immune system by telling immune cells to produce immunosuppressive steroids.

30 Jul 2020

Researchers identify targeted treatment strategy for malignant pleural mesothelioma

The reactivation of telomerase is a key mechanism in the unrestricted growth of cancer cells. Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a form of cancer originating from the mesothelium, a cell layer covering the lungs and the inside of the chest wall.

30 Jul 2020

Experts caution against routine use of current GEP tests for melanoma patients

A consensus statement published today in JAMA Dermatology by an international group of melanoma researchers evaluates the use of prognostic genetic expression profile (GEP) testing to guide clinical management of patients with melanoma.

29 Jul 2020

Cancer-related care has decreased since the start of COVID-19

Research from the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center - Jefferson Health (SKCC) found significant decreases nationwide in the number of patients being seen for cancer-related care as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed during the few first months of 2020.

28 Jul 2020

Combining two immunotherapies into a single treatment found to be more effective

Some of the most promising advances in cancer treatment have centered on immunotherapies that rev up a patient's immune system to attack cancer. But immunotherapies don't work in all patients, and researchers have been searching for ways to increase their effectiveness.

23 Jul 2020

JRC releases 2020 estimates on cancer burden in the EU

Today, the European Commission Joint Research Centre released the 2020 estimates on the burden of cancer in the EU. Female breast cancer is still estimated to be the most commonly diagnosed cancer.

23 Jul 2020

Research could lead to more efficient cellular immunotherapies for advanced cancers

Adoptive cell transfer immunotherapy is one of the most promising new treatments for people with hard-to-treat cancers.

23 Jul 2020

National Cancer Institute renews designation of HCI as Comprehensive Cancer Center

The National Cancer Institute has renewed the designation of Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest federal rank possible for a cancer research organization.

21 Jul 2020

Groundbreaking technology could enhance therapeutic efficiency of nanomedicines

Researchers from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and their colleagues from Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry and Prokhorov General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed a breakthrough technology to resolve a key problem that has prevented the introduction of novel drugs into clinical practice for decades.

17 Jul 2020

Pembrolizumab can improve outcomes in patients with metastatic melanoma

A new 10-year analysis led by Igor Puzanov, MD, MSci, FACP, Director of Early Phase Clinical Trials and Chief of Melanoma at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and published today in the journal JAMA Oncology provides new insights into an important question.

17 Jul 2020

Stand Up To Cancer announces new effort to achieve health equity for underserved lung cancer patients

Stand Up To Cancer today announced a new $5 million grant from Bristol Myers Squibb to fund research and education efforts aimed at achieving health equity for underserved lung cancer patients, including Black people and people living in rural communities.

16 Jul 2020

Biological anti-tumor mechanism can provide long-term immune response against tumors

Blocking a newly identified "immune memory checkpoint" in immune cells could improve immunotherapy and help prevent cancers from recurring, according to new findings in mice and human samples by researchers at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

15 Jul 2020

Study shows safety and effectiveness of PET radiotracer in imaging glioblastomas

A first-in-human study presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 2020 Annual Meeting has demonstrated the safety, favorable pharmacokinetic and dosimetry profile of 64Cu-EBRGD, a new, relatively long-lived PET tracer, in patients with glioblastomas.

13 Jul 2020

Immunicom and Sheba Medical Center initiate clinical trial to evaluate novel cancer treatment

Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer and Immunicom, Inc. are initiating a ground-breaking clinical trial to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the Immunicom LW-02 plasma filtration device as a monotherapy and in combination with an anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor.

9 Jul 2020

PRMT5 inhibitors can help treat advanced melanoma

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have demonstrated the therapeutic potential of PRMT5 inhibitors to sensitize unresponsive melanoma to immune checkpoint therapy.

9 Jul 2020