It has increased 1,800 percent since 1930. Although the incidence rate continues to rise, the death rate is declining because people are seeking help earlier. However, a patient is at high risk for recurrence if the primary melanoma was 4mm or greater, or if the disease has spread to regional nodes. New treatment techniques include sentinel node biopsy, which allows physicians to map out the lymphatic drainage sites, targeting the first node the cancer would drain to. This takes the guess work out of where to next look for melanoma developing in a patient.
Physicians can then determine how aggressively to treat the melanoma.
This drug, given for one year, significantly delays cancer's effects. Unlike basal cell and squamous cell, heredity may be a factor in this cancer. Certain moles that run in families may indicate the person is at a higher risk of developing melanoma. Also differing from other skin cancers, melanoma may develop in brown or black-skinned people. Posted on April 14, 1998.