Is Stage 4 Melanoma Curable

What Happens If You Catch Skin Cancer Early

But when its caught early, melanoma often is curable. Thats why its so important to be familiar with your skin and report any changes to your dermatologist right away, especially if youve had a significant amount of exposure to tanning beds in the past. Get into the habit of checking your skin once a month.

Clinical Staging And Pathologic Staging

To add to the complexity of staging, the cancer also may have a clinical stage and a pathologic stage.

Clinical staging takes place before surgery, based on blood tests, physical exams or imaging tests such as X-rays, a computed tomography scan, magnetic resonance imaging or positron emission tomography scans.

What doctors discover during surgery may provide more detailed information about the cancers size and spread. Often, some tissue from the surgery will be examined afterward to provide more clues. This process is known as pathologic staging, or surgical staging.

If surgery isnt possible, doctors will use the clinical stage when determining a treatment plan.

Can You Have Melanoma And Not Know It

How long can you have melanoma and not know it? It depends on the type of melanoma. For example, nodular melanoma grows rapidly over a matter of weeks, while a radial melanoma can slowly spread over the span of a decade. Like a cavity, a melanoma may grow for years before producing any significant symptoms.

Also Check: Does Skin Cancer Burn And Itch

Treating Stage I Melanoma

Stage I melanoma is typically treated by wide excision . The width of the margin depends on the thickness and location of the melanoma. Most often, no other treatment is needed.

Some doctors may recommend a sentinel lymph node biopsy to look for cancer in nearby lymph nodes, especially if the melanoma is stage IB or has other characteristics that make it more likely to have spread. You and your doctor should discuss this option.

If the SLNB does not find cancer cells in the lymph nodes, then no further treatment is needed, although close follow-up is still important.

If cancer cells are found on the SLNB, a lymph node dissection might be recommended. Another option might be to watch the lymph nodes closely by getting an ultrasound of the nodes every few months.

If the SLNB found cancer, adjuvant treatment with an immune checkpoint inhibitor or targeted therapy drugs might be recommended to try to lower the chance the melanoma will come back. Other drugs or perhaps vaccines might also be options as part of a clinical trial.

Dont Google Survival Rates

Not only because its not helpful, but because theyre not even accurate, says Dr. Betof Warner. The survival statistics for stage 4 melanoma are still evolving because most of the drugs we use were approved about five years ago, so the numbers are literally just coming out. And theyre more promising. Recent research in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that 52% of patients on a combination of two checkpoint inhibitors were alive after five years. In 2018, the survival rate for stage 4 melanoma was listed as just 22.5%. Stay focused on your own treatment rather than searching stats.

• High-Risk Melanomas and Recurrence:JAMA Dermatology. . Risk of Melanoma Recurrence After Diagnosis of a High-Risk Primary Tumor. jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/2731995

• Melanoma Mutations:The ASCO Post. . Melanoma Mutations: What You Need To Know. ascopost.com/issues/november-25-2017/melanoma-mutations-what-you-need-to-know/

• Treating Stage IV Melanoma: The American Cancer Society. . Treatment of Melanoma Skin Cancer, by Stage. cancer.org/cancer/melanoma-skin-cancer/treating/by-stage.html

• Stage IV Melanoma Survival Rates: Melanoma Research Alliance. . Melanoma Survival Rates. curemelanoma.org/about-melanoma/melanoma-staging/melanoma-survival-rates/

You May Like: Prognosis For Skin Cancer

Metastatic Melanoma: A Wife Reflects On Husband’s Shocking Diagnosis

My husband, Steve, was diagnosed with stage IV melanoma in January 2012 at age 34. We have two daughters, ages 2 and 10. He had just started a job working from home and our life seemed to be going so smoothly. I had had some minor health issues that prevented me from working and Steve’s new job enabled me to stay home and focus on getting better. One day in December 2011, Steve asked me to feel a strange lump on his neck. It was directly above his right clavicle and was swollen to about the size of an egg. I immediately started scouring the Internet to see if I could figure out what was going on. After a few minutes, I determined it was a supraclavicular lymph node. Everything I read about the right supraclavicular lymph node pointed to cancer or a very bad infection. Steve had just gotten over a cold, so I was hoping it had something to do with that. After a few days, it had not gone down. At this point he began to get worried, too, so we decided to go to the ER.

Treatments For Stage I Melanoma

Your doctor will most likely treat stage 1 melanoma with surgery called wide excision, which cuts out the melanoma along with a margin of healthy surrounding skin. The amount of healthy skin removed is determined by the location and the thickness of the melanoma being treated.

While wide excision surgery is often the only treatment necessary, in some cases a doctor may also choose to check for cancer in nearby lymph nodes by performing a sentinel lymph node biopsy. If cancer cells are found in the lymph nodes, further treatment will become necessary, such as a lymph node dissection , chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapies.

Also Check: Stage 3 Melanoma Survival Rate

You May Have A Genetic Mutation

Its very likely that your melanoma tumor will have a DNA mutation. These mutations turn off tumor-suppressor genes, allowing cancers to grow out of control, according to the American Cancer Society. Discovering which mutation you have through genetic profiling can help your doctor determine the best course of treatment. Research has shown that about 50% of melanomas contain the BRAF mutation, while others may contain MEK mutations or the less common C-KIT mutation. Most people will only have only one of these mutations.

Treatment Of Stage Iii Melanoma That Cannot Be Removed By Surgery Stage Iv Melanoma And Recurrent Melanoma

For information about the treatments listed below, see the Treatment Option Overview section.

Treatment of stage III melanoma that cannot be removed by surgery, stage IV melanoma, and recurrentmelanoma may include the following:

• Radiation therapy to the brain, spinal cord, or bone.

Treatments that are being studied in clinical trials for stage III melanoma that cannot be removed by surgery, stage IV melanoma, and recurrent melanoma include the following:

• Immunotherapy alone or in combination with other therapies such as targeted therapy.
• For melanoma that has spread to the brain, immunotherapy with nivolumab plus ipilimumab.
• Targeted therapy, such as signal transduction inhibitors, angiogenesis inhibitors, oncolytic virus therapy, or drugs that target certain genemutations. These may be given alone or in combination.
• Surgery to remove all known cancer.
• Systemic chemotherapy.

Use our clinical trial search to find NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are accepting patients. You can search for trials based on the type of cancer, the age of the patient, and where the trials are being done. General information about clinical trials is also available.

You May Like: Non Invasive Breast Cancer Survival Rate

Is Melanoma Curable

Melanoma is one of the most dangerous forms of skin cancer and a serious health concern, but melanoma is usually treatable when caught early. According to Dr. Daniel Condie of U.S. Dermatology Partners in Plano and Sherman, Texas, Melanoma has its deadly reputation because its often caught in the advanced stages. In the early stages, melanoma is usually curable. Keep reading to learn more from Dr. Condie about melanoma and how to reduce your risk of developing this type of skin cancer.

What Is A Five

Five-year survival rate refers to the average number of people with a particular disease or condition who are alive five years after being diagnosed.

Cancer experts based five-year survival rates for melanoma on information from a database called SEER, which stands for the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program.

Survival statistics from the SEER database are not based on AJCC melanoma staging. Instead, they’re based on if and how far the melanoma has spread:

The five-year survival rate for all three SEER stages combined is 93%.

The five-year survival rate for all three SEER stages combined is 93%.

Read Also: Basal Cell Carcinoma Late Stages

Complementary And Alternative Treatments

Its common for people with cancer to seek out complementary or alternative treatments. When used alongside your conventional cancer treatment, some of these therapies can make you feel better and improve your quality of life. Others may not be so helpful and in some cases may be harmful. It is important to tell all your healthcare professionals about any complementary medicines you are taking. Never stop taking your conventional treatment without consulting your doctor first.All treatments can have side effects. These days, new treatments are available that can help to make many side effects much less severe than they were in the past.

What They Look Like

Melanomas in situ tend to be flat and asymmetric with irregular borders. They can be black, brown, tan, gray or even pink if the person has very fair skin. Areas that receive the greatest sun exposure, such as the scalp, face and neck, are more likely to develop melanoma in situ than the arms or legs. However, non-sun exposed areas, such as the buttocks, are also at risk. We dont always understand the causes of these melanomas, though heredity can play a role. To detect melanoma in situ as early as possible, it helps to monitor your own skin. Head-to-toe self-examinations are a good place to start, including the areas where the sun doesnt shine. When evaluating your skin, focus on the ABCDEs of melanoma detection. A stands for asymmetry B for irregular borders C for more than one color D for diameter greater than 6mm , or the size of a pencil eraser and E for evolving, meaning any lesion that is new or changing. View helpful photos showing the ABCDEs of melanoma.

Don’t Miss: Skin Cancer Mayo

Advanced Skin Cancer Was Once A Death Sentence Immunotherapy Is Changing That

Most cancer patients are haunted by the same two questions:

âWhy me?â

âWhy now?â

Walton, 34, actually feels lucky advanced melanoma struck when it did.

If I had been diagnosed five years prior, who knows if I would be here,â she says.

Stage 4 melanoma used to be a death sentence. The disease doesnt respond to radiation or chemotherapy, and patients survived, on average, less than a year.

But over the last decade, doctors are successfully using a new approach, one significantly different than the treatment options available for the last 150 years.

Instead of burning or poisoning cancer cells, new medicines unleash the bodyâs natural defenses to fight them.

This treatment is called immunotherapy.

Beating the Odds

When Walton was 26, she found a mole on the back of her hip.

âIt started morphing into this ugly, dark, bleeding thing,â she says, grimacing. âI just knew something was wrong.â

Doctors surgically removed her tumor. But a couple of years later, she discovered a tiny lump in her abdomen. It felt like a popcorn kernel, and within a few weeks grew to the size of a walnut.

A biopsy revealed she had stage 4 melanoma.

Walton searched online for information about the disease. She recalls the moment she discovered the average survival rate: six to nine months.

âI remember sort of losing my hearing, almost losing my vision to where I felt like I was in a tunnel,â she says.

Treating Stage Ii Melanoma

Wide excision is the standard treatment for stage II melanoma. The width of the margin depends on the thickness and location of the melanoma.

Because the melanoma may have spread to nearby lymph nodes, many doctors recommend a sentinel lymph node biopsy as well. This is an option that you and your doctor should discuss.

If an SLNB is done and does not find cancer cells in the lymph nodes, then no further treatment is needed, although close follow-up is still important.

If the SLNB finds that the sentinel node contains cancer cells, then a lymph node dissection will probably be done at a later date. Another option might be to watch the lymph nodes closely by getting an ultrasound of the nodes every few months.

If the SLNB found cancer, adjuvant treatment with an immune checkpoint inhibitor or targeted therapy drugs might be recommended to try to lower the chance the melanoma will come back. Other drugs or perhaps vaccines might also be options as part of a clinical trial.

You May Like: 3b Melanoma

Immunotherapy May Be Part Of Your Treatment

All stage 4 melanoma patients are eligible for immunotherapy, says Dr. Friedlander. This class of intravenous drugs work by boosting your immune cells so they can find and kill cancer cells. There are a few different types. Checkpoint inhibitors release a checkpoint on immune cells that stops them from attacking cancer cells, giving them free to seek and destroy. The three available are Yervoy , Opdivo , and Keytruda . IV drugs behave like cancer-fighting proteins the body already makes. Melanoma vaccines are often immunotherapy as well. T-VEC, for instance, works by stimulating your immune system.

General Survival Rate Information

Five-year and ten-year survival rates tell you what percent of people live at least five years and ten years, respectively, after the cancer is found.

Statistics on the survival rates for people with melanoma are based on annual data from past cases and over multi-year timeframes.

Because treatments for melanoma are more successful in early stages, it is informative to look at survival rates based on stage and stage subgroups rather than on the cancer as a whole.

It is important to remember that survival rates do not predict an individuals survival. Every person and every case are different, and many factors contribute to an individuals survival. Its also important to remember that new and successful treatments have emerged over the last few years, and survival rates have increased in Stage III and Stage IV melanoma.

Recommended Reading: What Does Well Differentiated Mean

Drugs Can Target Your Type Of Tumor

If your melanoma tumor has one of the gene mutations we mentioned, your oncologist may start with a drug that targets specific proteins in the mutation. Depending on which mutation your melanoma tested positive for, your oral drug options include: BRAF inhibitors including Zelboraf , Tafinlar , and Braftovi MEK inhibitors such as Mekinist , Cotellic , and Mektovi and C-KIT inhibitors, which include Gleevac and Tasigna . Because BRAF and MEK mutations are closely associated, research has shown that combining the two types of drugs may yield better results.

Patients Can Enter Clinical Trials Before During Or After Starting Their Cancer Treatment

Some clinical trials only include patients who have not yet received treatment. Other trials test treatments for patients whose cancer has not gotten better. There are also clinical trials that test new ways to stop cancer from recurring or reduce the side effects of cancer treatment.

Clinical trials are taking place in many parts of the country. Information about clinical trials supported by NCI can be found on NCIs clinical trials search webpage. Clinical trials supported by other organizations can be found on the ClinicalTrials.gov website.

Also Check: Melanoma 3b

Immunotherapy Is Changing The Game

While chemotherapy was once the go-to treatment for metastatic cancer, newer approaches have proven to be so much more effective that chemo is now being phased out.

Immunotherapy has changed the way oncologists battle advanced melanoma, allowing them to harness the power of the bodys own immune system to fight disease.

A type of immunotherapy, called checkpoint blockade therapy or checkpoint inhibitor therapy, is significantly extending the lives of many people with stage 3 and stage 4 melanomas. The Food and Drug Administration has approved four such drugs since 2011.

Two drugs approved in 2014, Keytruda and Opdivo , have become frontline treatments for metastatic melanoma.

Both work by blocking the action of a molecule called PD-1 , which normally keeps the immune systems T cells in check.

Once freed from the stymying effects of PD-1, the T cells attack the cancer.

A study published in April 2016 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which followed 655 advanced melanoma patients on Keytruda, showed how effective these drugs can be. The average survival was 23 months, and 40 percent of patients were alive three years after starting treatment, with 85 patients becoming and remaining cancer-free.

Researchers are finding out that, despite an increased chance of serious side effects, combining different checkpoint blockade therapies is improving survival so much that the risk might be worth it.

Permission To Use This Summary

PDQ is a registered trademark. The content of PDQ documents can be used freely as text. It cannot be identified as an NCI PDQ cancer information summary unless the whole summary is shown and it is updated regularly. However, a user would be allowed to write a sentence such as NCIs PDQ cancer information summary about breast cancer prevention states the risks in the following way: .

The best way to cite this PDQ summary is:

PDQ® Adult Treatment Editorial Board. PDQ Melanoma Treatment. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated < MM/DD/YYYY> . Available at: . Accessed < MM/DD/YYYY> .

Images in this summary are used with permission of the author, artist, and/or publisher for use in the PDQ summaries only. If you want to use an image from a PDQ summary and you are not using the whole summary, you must get permission from the owner. It cannot be given by the National Cancer Institute. Information about using the images in this summary, along with many other images related to cancer can be found in Visuals Online. Visuals Online is a collection of more than 3,000 scientific images.

You May Like: Melanoma Bone Cancer Life Expectancy