Staging helps doctors determine how the melanoma will be treated. Stage 0 - Also called melanoma in situ, this tumor is found only on the top layer of the epidermis. Virtually all of these cases can be cured. The tumor has not spread to the lymph nodes or distant organs. The melanoma has spread to the lymph node associated with the affected skin area.
Treatment is by surgery.
In most cases, adjacent lymph nodes are also removed, and biological therapy with interferon may be recommended. The melanoma has spread to other organs such as the lung, liver, or brain, or to distant areas of skin or lymph nodes. Recurrent - Recurrent cancer has come back even though it has been treated. I melanoma is 85 to 90 percent. Only about 10 percent of people with stage IV melanoma survive more than three years after diagnosis.