Metastatic Melanoma

Melanoma is one of the most serious cancer forms and is the sixth most common cancer in the U.S. It develops in the person’s skin cells known as melanocytes, found in the epidermis’ lower part. The melanocytes are responsible for providing the skin’s pigment. The number of melanoma cases which are diagnosed every year is increasing very fast. After the diagnoses, the next thing that needs to be done is determination of the stage according to the tumor’s thickness, its aggressiveness and its spreading extent. Knowing the stage is very important, because that info actually determines the appropriate treatment for the patient. Melanoma usually starts as a lesion. Cancer cells start to spread to the lymph nodes around, and later to distant sites throughout the entire body. Once the disease spreads to more distant locations, the condition is called metastatic melanoma.

What is Metastatic Melanoma?

Stage IV melanoma, or commonly known as metastatic or advanced melanoma, is the term for melanoma spreading into the lymph nodes, deeper parts of the skin and other body parts, including the liver, brain and lungs. Although the cells have spread to other body parts, due to the fact that the cancer cells originate from melanoma, this cancer form is called metastatic melanoma. This term is used when cutaneous, ocular or mucosal kind of melanoma has spread to distant organs of the body. Unfortunately, melanoma cannot be “caught” on time, since the patient does not feel any signs or symptoms during the early stages. The symptoms are present once the disease is already spread, thus the early detection is almost impossible, which means that the treatment is more crucial.

Risk Factors of Metastatic Melanoma

For patients with advanced melanoma, the disease has spread into many body parts or internal organs. The treatment focuses mostly on prolonging the survival, providing comfort, preventing development of new sites and shrinking the growth. The risk factors of metastatic melanoma include sun sensitivity, family history and abnormal moles. People with freckled and fair skin and blond or red hair with blue or gray eyes are more in risk to develop melanoma. Those with family history of melanoma are more likely to develop this disease. Dysplastic nevus is a mole that differentiates from other common moles. It can appear on any body part and it can also increase the risk of developing melanoma.

Treatment Options for Metastatic Melanoma

As for the treatment options, metastatic melanoma is treated by cutting out the infected skin portion and following up with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The type of treatment that is implemented depends on the location of the disease. If it is spread in the lymph nodes, chemotherapy will be enough. Melanoma usually appears on the skin and it might resemble a stem or mole. The edges of the mole are jagged, undefined and most cases of melanoma contain pigments of pink, brown and black. When the visible part of melanoma has been taken care of, the process continues with treatment through which it can be determined where the melanoma has been spread, as well as how serious and aggressive it grows. For that, additional surgeries and radiation therapy might be required.