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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 Melanoma starts in the melanocytes, which are cells found in the top layer of skin that are responsible for producing the pigment melanin. Melanoma can arise anywhere there is pigmented tissue, including the eyes, sinuses, anus and a woman's vulva.
According to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, skin melanomas often look asymmetrical, have a ragged or blurred border and are dark in color. But rare forms of melanoma contain no pigment and can appear as pink nodules on the skin.
The disease is less common than other skin cancers, but if untreated, melanoma can spread and be difficult to cure. In the United States, more than 67,000 people annually are diagnosed with melanoma, and more than 8,000 will die, according to the American Cancer Society.
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Given the severity of the disease, U.S. melanoma experts said they found the study intriguing.
"This is the first randomized study that tested the question whether postoperative radiation therapy offered any advantage in terms of loco-regional control to patients with loco-regionally advanced melanoma," said Dr. Nancy Lee, a radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. "The authors are to be congratulated for finally completing an important study in our field. This is particularly important as [local] recurrence can be devastating and often is difficult to salvage with additional therapy."
Dr. David Fisher, of Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital, praised the study but said he wanted more data on overall survival.
"This is an important study, since decisive data on the value of adjuvant radiation therapy have been lacking," said Fisher, director of the melanoma program at Mass General. "It will be important to learn additional details, but the study appears to provide important supportive evidence for adjuvant radiation therapy."
More information
The American Cancer Society has more on melanoma and its treatments.
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