Melanoma

Overview

Mayo Clinic doctors treat thousands of patients with melanoma each year. Mayo offers the latest melanoma diagnosis and treatment options, including innovative experimental therapies for late-stage melanoma that are uniquely available through our clinical trials. Mayo Clinic also offers lifelong follow-up care for melanoma survivors, who face a high likelihood of developing another melanoma.

Mayo Clinic's surgical pathologists and dermatopathologists are expert at rapidly identifying melanoma stage and severity, which enables the treatment team to determine the most appropriate combination of treatments. Doctors from dermatology, oncology, pathology, ophthalmology, surgery and other medical specialties work together to treat each patient based on his or her needs.

Treatment options

Mayo Clinic offers the latest treatment options for all types of melanoma, including Mohs surgery with immunohistochemical staining, and many experimental options for patients with late-stage melanoma or melanoma that has not responded to treatment. Learn more about melanoma treatment.

Research

Mayo Clinic is a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, dedicated to discovering new ways to predict, prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. The melanoma research program at Mayo Clinic is focused on developing and evaluating new, innovative melanoma treatments. More than 90 physician researchers and scientists in 15 medical specialties work together to expand the range of treatment options for patients with melanoma.

About melanoma

Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, and continues to rapidly increase. Although other forms of skin cancer, such as basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, are on the rise, the greatest increase has been in melanoma. The disease typically arises painlessly from cells that produce the skin's pigment (melanin).

Most melanomas appear without any accompanying symptoms. Approximately 70 percent of these cancers arise from normal-appearing skin, while the remaining 30 percent arise from an existing mole. These will manifest as a mole that has undergone sudden changes in shape, color, or diameter, or suspicious changes such as swelling, scaliness, itching, oozing or bleeding. If left untreated, the tumor can spread downward into deeper skin layers, and to lymph nodes and internal organs.

Read more about melanoma at MayoClinic.com.