Melanoma skin cancer

All about melanoma, the type of skin cancer that develops from abnormal moles. Including symptoms and causes, tests to diagnose melanoma, treatment for early melanoma (surgery) and more advanced melanoma (chemotherapy, biological therapy and radiotherapy) and current research. Living with melanoma skin cancer covers coping with your diagnosis and looking after your skin.

If you are looking for information about melanoma of the eye, you should go to our eye cancer section. But if the melanoma has spread, you will also find useful information in this section.

What to ask your doctor about melanoma tests

You can also find melanoma skin cancer organisations providing help and support, a reading list and see where this information comes from.

Did you know that Cancer Research UK has an online forum for people affected by cancer? Cancer Chat is your space to talk about cancer.

Plus join the Q & A sessions on the first Thursday of every month and have your questions answered by one of our cancer specialist nurses.

News: Scientists uncover reason for second cancers after targeted melanoma treatment: An international study has uncovered how secondary skin cancers sometimes develop in malignant melanoma patients who are treated with an experimental drug.; 19 Jan 2012
News: 'Detox' immune cells linked to skin cancer development: A study funded by Cancer Research UK has provided a surprising insight into the development of a form of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma, or SCC.; 6 Jan 2012
News: Protein linked to spread of skin cancer: An international team of researchers working together on both sides of the Atlantic have pinpointed a protein, called P-Rex1, that seems to play a key role in the spread of malignant melanoma - the most deadly form of skin cancer, according to a paper in Nature Communications.; 22 Nov 2011

News digest – ‘stratified’ medicine, government reforms, and improving survival rates: There’s been another glut of fascinating stories this week, most of which focused on aspects of the NHS. Here’s our digest – follow the links for the full story: On Monday, we announced that we’d enrolled the first patients into … Continue reading →; 26 Nov 2011
Our Stratified Medicine Programme – what is it and how will it work?: When breast cancer drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) became available to the NHS in 2006, many hospital pathology labs were caught on the hop. Trastuzumab is designed to treat women whose tumours contain high levels of a protein called Her2, but having … Continue reading →; 21 Nov 2011
Headlines about morning sunbathing are misleading: Earlier this week, new research was published about the effects of the body’s daily rhythms – known as the ‘circadian clock’ – on how skin responds to damage caused by UV exposure. It’s an interesting piece of research, carried out … Continue reading →; 27 Oct 2011