Skip to main content
  • COVID-19
    • COVID-19 vaccines and cancer
      • FAQs
      • FAQs in-language
      • SerOzNET Study
    • COVID-19 information for people affected by cancer
      • Managing your cancer care in the context of COVID-19
      • Looking after your mental wellbeing
      • Canada
      • Ireland
      • UK
      • USA
    • COVID-19 information for children and young people with cancer
    • Cancer Won’t Wait
    • Cancer and COVID-19 - what it means for our Mob
      • COVID-19 vaccines: Information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by cancer
      • Act early for our Mob's health
    • Guidance for health professionals
      • Diagnosis
      • Treatment
      • Surgery
      • Medical oncology
      • Radiation oncology
      • Primary care
      • Telehealth
      • Clinical trials
      • Follow-up care
      • Supportive and Palliative care
      • Cancer care for cancer patients with COVID-19
      • COVID-19 vaccines and cancer
      • Recovery
    • Research articles
      • Review articles
      • Data articles
      • Recommendations articles
      • Shared experience articles
      • COVID-19 vaccines and cancer articles
    • Cancer care in the time of COVID-19: A conceptual framework
    • Optimal cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic: the Principles
    • The impact of COVID-19 on cancer services
    • COVID-19 Recovery: Implications for cancer care
      • Expanded use of telehealth
      • Changes to prevention and early detection
      • Virtual multidisciplinary team meetings
      • Modifications to treatment schedules
      • Hypofractionated radiotherapy
      • Oncology hospital in the home
      • Responsive patient support
      • Innovative care and hospital infrastructure models
      • Shared follow-up and survivorship care
      • Supportive and palliative care
      • Cancer research and clinical trials
      • Collaboration in the oncology sector and data sharing
      • Acknowledgements
  • About us
    • Organisational structure
    • Accountability and reporting
      • Annual reports
    • Who we work with
      • Roles & functions
      • Advisory Council
      • Advisory groups
      • Consumer engagement
      • Government cancer control organisations
    • Information publication scheme
      • Information publication scheme plan
      • Freedom of information act
        • The FOI request process
      • FOI disclosure log
    • Reconciliation action plan
    • Employment opportunities
  • News and media
    • News
    • Subscribe to our eNewsletter
  • Contact us
Cancer Australia
Choose Language
  • العربية
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
  • Ελληνικά
  • हिन्दी
  • Italiano
  • 한국어
  • Español
  • Tagalog
  • Tiếng Việt
  • العربية
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
  • Ελληνικά
  • हिन्दी
  • Italiano
  • 한국어
  • Español
  • Tagalog
  • Tiếng Việt
  • العربية
  • 简体中文
  • 繁體中文
  • Ελληνικά
  • हिन्दी
  • Italiano
  • 한국어
  • Español
  • Tagalog
  • Tiếng Việt
  • Home
  • Cancer types
  • Impacted by Cancer
  • Awareness
  • Research
  • Resources
  • Clinicians hub
  • Key initiatives
  • Home
  • Cancer types
    • Bladder cancer
    • Bowel cancer
    • Brain cancer
    • Breast cancer
    • Breast cancer in men
    • Breast cancer in young women
    • Cervical cancer
    • Children’s cancer
    • Endometrial cancer
    • Fallopian cancer
    • Gestational trophoblastic disease
    • Gynaecological cancers
    • Head and neck cancer
    • Kidney cancer
    • Leukaemia
    • Liver cancer
    • Lung cancer
    • Lymphoma
    • Melanoma
    • Mesothelioma cancer
    • Myeloma
    • Neuroendocrine tumours
    • Oesophageal cancer
    • Ovarian cancer
    • Pancreatic cancer
    • Prostate cancer
    • Sarcoma
    • Stomach cancer
    • Testicular cancer
    • Thyroid cancer
    • Unknown primary cancer
    • Uterine sarcoma
    • Vaginal cancer
    • Vulvar cancer
  • Impacted by Cancer
    • What is cancer
    • Physical changes
    • Treatment
    • Keeping healthy
    • Emotions
    • Family and relationships
    • Living with cancer
    • Lynch Syndrome
  • Awareness
    • Your cancer risk
    • Screening
    • Interactive body map
  • Research
    • Cancer Research in Australia
    • Data and statistics
    • Australian Clinical Trials
    • Support for cancer clinical trials
    • Grants and funding
  • Resources
    • Cancer Australia Publications
    • Clinical Practice Guidelines
    • Position statements
    • Resources in other languages
    • Cancer Australia websites
    • Cancer risk online assessment tools
    • Other tools and resources
    • Podcasts
    • Cancer support organisations
    • Glossary
  • Clinicians hub
    • GP guides and resources
    • Guidelines by cancer type
    • Optimal Care pathways
    • Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
    • Multidisciplinary care
    • Psychosocial care
    • Follow-up care
    • Family cancer clinics
    • Cancer Learning
    • Consumer engagement
  • Key initiatives
    • For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
    • Australian Cancer Plan
    • Australian Brain Cancer Mission
    • Lung Cancer Screening
    • National Pancreatic Cancer Roadmap
    • Campaigns & events
    • Jeannie Ferris Recognition Award

Melanoma of the skin

melanoma-mm cancer-types/melanoma/overview
    • Home
    • Types
    • Statistics
    • Risk factors
    • Symptoms
    • Diagnosis
    • Treatment
    • Finding support
    • Clinical trials
    • Health professionals
    • Home
    • Types
    • Statistics
    • Risk factors
    • Symptoms
    • Diagnosis
    • Treatment
    • Finding support
    • Clinical trials
    • Health professionals
  1. Home
  2. Treatment
Loading...

Treatment options

  • Printer-friendly version
  • A|A

Treatment and care of people with cancer is usually provided by a team of health professionals, both medical and allied health, called a multidisciplinary team.

Treatment for melanoma depends on:[1]

•       the stage of the disease

•       the location of the cancer

•       the severity of symptoms

•       the possible side effects

•       the risk of the cancer returning after treatment

•       if the cancer cells have certain gene changes

•       your general health and wishes.

Treatment may involve the following.

Surgery

Surgery is the main initial treatment for melanoma.

Thin, early-stage melanomas can be removed by minor surgery (under local anaesthetic) that excises the tumour and some normal skin tissue around it. A wide margin of healthy skin around the edge of the tumour is removed to ensure that no cancer cells were left behind. This is called wide local excision. The thicker the tumour, the wider the margin required, in terms of both area and depth. This minor surgery will leave a scar.

You may also have a sentinel lymph node biopsy at the same time as the wide local excision. This is where a lymph node near the melanoma is identified by injecting a radioactive substance and/or dye into the skin near the melanoma. The lymph node is then removed so that a pathologist can test it for melanoma cells.

If the melanoma has spread to nearby lymph nodes, these lymph nodes are usually removed by surgery under general anaesthetic. This is called lymph node dissection. It will not necessarily cure the cancer, but it might prolong survival and avoid the pain resulting from the cancer growing in the lymph nodes. Removal of lymph nodes that drain fluid (lymph) from the arms or legs can cause side effects, including a buildup of fluid in the limbs or neck. This is called lymphoedema.

Chemotherapy

Along with surgery, some people may receive chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy may be less effective for melanoma than for some other types of cancer. For this reason, immunotherapy and targeted therapy may be preferred. However, chemotherapy may be used to prolong survival or relieve symptoms.

Radiation therapy

Along with surgery, some people may receive radiation therapy.

Radiation therapy is not usually used to treat the original melanoma in the skin. It may be used to treat melanoma that has come back (recurred) or to kill any cancer cells remaining after surgery. It can also be used to relieve symptoms caused by spread of the melanoma, especially to the brain or bones.

Targeted therapy

Targeted therapy refers to treatment with medicines that are designed to specifically attack cancer cells without harming normal cells. These types of medicines affect the way that cancer cells grow, divide, repair themselves or interact with other cells.

Medicines used for targeted therapy of melanoma include vemurafenib, cobimetinib,[2] dabrafenib and trametinib, which attack cells that have a damaged BRAF gene. About half of all melanomas have mutations in the BRAF gene that cause the cells to grow and divide more rapidly.

Targeted medicines for melanoma with NRAS and C-KIT mutations may be available through clinical trials. Talk to your doctor to work out if a clinical trial is right you.[3]

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy uses medicines to stimulate the immune system to attack cancer cells. These medicines include:

•       pembrolizumab, nivolumab and ipilimumab, which block proteins on immune system cells that stop these cells from attacking other cells in the body – this boosts the immune system’s response against melanoma cells but can also produce side effects, including causing the immune system to attack other parts of the body

•       cytokines, including interferon-alpha and interleukin-2, which boost the immune system generally; they can also cause side effects, some of which are serious

•       talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), which is a type of virus made in a lab to infect and kill mainly cancer cells and also boosts the immune system; a common side effect is flu-like symptoms[4]

•       Bacille–Calmette–Guerin (BCG) vaccine, which is used to vaccinate against tuberculosis and boosts the immune system generally

•       imiquimod cream, which boosts the immune system’s response against skin cancer cells for stage 0 melanoma.[5]

Immunotherapy may be used after surgery to attack remaining cancer cells, or it may be used to treat tumours that can’t be removed by surgery.

Follow-up

After treatment, you will need regular examination of the skin and lymph nodes. Depending on the stage of the melanoma when it was diagnosed and treated, you might also need imaging tests. You should also regularly examine your own skin and lymph nodes for lumps or other changes.

Advanced disease

Stage IV melanoma, when the cancer has spread to distant organs such as the lungs or brain, is unlikely to be treatable with surgery alone. However, surgery might still be used at this stage to prolong survival and relieve symptoms. Metastases that cannot be removed by surgery may be treated with radiation therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy or chemotherapy. These types of treatment may shrink the tumours or slow their growth, as well as relieving symptoms.

Recurrent cancer

Melanoma may recur (come back) after treatment. The cancer can recur in the skin or somewhere else in the body, and is classified as being local, in-transit or distant. Secondary cancer is when the cancer spreads to another part of the body.

Treatment options for recurrent and secondary melanoma depend on where the cancer comes back, the stage of the original melanoma and the treatments that have already been tried. Treatment can include surgery (especially if the melanoma comes back in the skin near the original tumour), radiation therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy or chemotherapy. When the cancer comes back in organs such as the lungs, brain, bones or liver, the treatment is usually the same as for stage IV melanoma.

 

[1] https://www.cancer.org/cancer/melanoma-skin-cancer/treating/by-stage.html

[2] https://www.nccn.org/patients/guidelines/content/PDF/melanoma-patient.pdf

[3] https://www.cancer.org/cancer/melanoma-skin-cancer/treating/by-stage.html

[4] https://www.nccn.org/patients/guidelines/content/PDF/melanoma-patient.pdf

[5] https://www.cancer.org/cancer/melanoma-skin-cancer/treating/immunotherapy.html

  • Last Updated
  • References
  • Relevant Links
updated: 21 December 2022 - 12:31pm

American Cancer Society (US) (2019). Melanoma skin cancer https://www.cancer.org/cancer/melanoma-skin-cancer.html.

National Comprehensive Cancer Network (US) (2017). NCCN guidelines for patients: melanoma, version 1.2018 https://www.nccn.org/patientresources/patient-resources/guidelines-for-patients/guidelines-for-patients-details?patientGuidelineId=21.

National Cancer Institute (US) (2020). Melanoma treatment (PDQ®) https://www.cancer.gov/types/skin/patient/melanoma-treatment-pdq, patient version.

Cancer Council Australia, Melanoma
National Cancer Institute (US)
American Cancer Society

Related information

What is cancer?
What is cancer?

Cancer is a disease of the cells, which are the body’s basic building blocks.

Treatment and side effects
Treatment and side effects

The treatment that your doctors recommend will depend on the type of cancer you have, how advanced it is, and other personal factors.

Living with cancer
Living with cancer

A diagnosis of cancer marks the beginning of a journey full of emotional, psychological, physical and practical challenges.

Life after cancer
Life after cancer

While looking forward to finishing their cancer treatment and getting on with life, for some people, the end of treatment can also be a confusing or worrying time.

A-Z List of Cancer Types

Information on more than 70 types of cancer

  • Bladder cancer
  • Bowel cancer
  • Brain cancer
  • Breast cancer
  • Breast cancer in men
  • Breast cancer in young women
  • Cervical cancer
  • Children's Cancer
  • Endometrial cancer
  • Fallopian cancer
  • Gestational trophoblastic disease
  • Gynaecological cancers
  • Head and neck cancer
  • Kidney cancer
  • Leukaemia
  • Liver cancer
  • Lung cancer
  • Lymphoma
  • Melanoma of the skin
  • Mesothelioma cancer
  • Myeloma
  • Neuroendocrine tumours
  • Oesophageal cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Prostate cancer
  • Sarcoma
  • Stomach cancer
  • Testicular cancer
  • Thyroid cancer
  • Unknown primary
  • Uterine sarcoma
  • Vaginal cancer
  • Vulval cancer

About Cancer Australia

Cancer Australia was established by the Australian Government in 2006 to benefit all Australians affected by cancer, and their families and carers. Cancer Australia aims to reduce the impact of cancer, address disparities and improve outcomes for people affected by cancer by leading and coordinating national, evidence-based interventions across the continuum of care.

If you would like an interpreter to help you understand any information on this website, please call TIS National on 131 450 and ask them to call Cancer Australia on 02 9357 9400. Our business hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Freecall 1800 624 973
+61 2 9357 9400

Locked Bag 3, Strawberry Hills
NSW 2012

Navigation

  • Cancer types
  • Impacted by Cancer
  • Awareness
  • Research
  • Resources
  • Clinicians hub
  • Key initiatives

Contact us

* Denotes mandatory fields
 

By submitting this form, you accept the Cancer Australia privacy policy.

  • Contact Us
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy policy
  • Sitemap
Copyright © 2023 - Cancer Australia