National Cancer Institute National Cancer Institute
U.S. National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute
NCI Home Cancer Topics Clinical Trials Cancer Statistics Research & Funding News About NCI
What You Need To Know About™ Melanoma
    Posted: 03/31/2003



Introduction







What Is Melanoma?






The Skin






Melanocytes and Moles






Understanding Cancer






Melanoma






Melanoma: Who’s at Risk?






Signs and Symptoms






Dysplastic Nevi






Diagnosis






Staging






Stages of Melanoma






Treatment






Getting a Second Opinion






Preparing for Treatment






Methods of Treatment






Surgery






Chemotherapy






Biological Therapy






Radiation Therapy






Treatment Choices by Stage






Recurrent Melanoma






Side Effects of Treatment






Surgery






Chemotherapy






Biological Therapy






Radiation Therapy






Nutrition






Followup Care






Support for People with Melanoma






The Promise of Cancer Research






How To Do a Skin Self-Exam






National Cancer Institute Booklets






National Cancer Institute Information Resources



Page Options
Print This Page  Print This Page
Print This Document  Print This Document
View Entire Document  View Entire Document
E-Mail This Document  E-Mail This Document
View/Print PDF  View/Print PDF
Order Free Copy  Order Free Copy
Quick Links
Director's Corner

Dictionary of Cancer Terms

NCI Drug Dictionary

Funding Opportunities

NCI Publications

Advisory Boards and Groups

Science Serving People

Español
Quit Smoking Today
NCI Highlights
Report to Nation Finds Declines in Cancer Incidence, Death Rates

High Dose Chemotherapy Prolongs Survival for Leukemia

Prostate Cancer Study Shows No Benefit for Selenium, Vitamin E

The Nation's Investment in Cancer Research FY 2009

Past Highlights
What Is Melanoma?

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer. It begins in cells in the skin called melanocytes. To understand melanoma, it is helpful to know about the skin and about melanocytes—what they do, how they grow, and what happens when they become cancerous.

< Previous Section  |  Next Section >


A Service of the National Cancer Institute
Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health USA.gov