Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers

The management of in-transit metastases is challenging, since the treatments and extent of disease vary greatly based on the number, depth, location, and distribution of lesions, and on their biological behavior.
• In-Transit Melanoma: Opportunity to Discover Critical Knowledge
• Individualized Local Treatment Strategies for In-Transit Melanoma

With the potential for therapeutic durability and a small chance of cure, surgical resection may offer improved survival compared to other therapeutic modalities. This review summarizes the existing literature that addresses the topic of metastasectomy in patients with melanoma and breast cancer.
• Hepatic Metastasectomy for Breast Cancer and Melanoma
• The Role of Hepatic Metastasectomy in Melanoma and Breast Cancer

This marks the first randomized clinical trial reporting an overall survival benefit using immune modulation in metastatic melanoma. Along with its therapeutic benefits, ipilimumab presents unique challenges to clinicians.
• CTLA-4–Blocking Immunotherapy With Ipilimumab for Advanced Melanoma
• Ipilimumab for Advanced Melanoma: Let’s Not Throw Caution to the Winds
• Improving the Therapeutic Benefits of Ipilimumab

This article will review diagnosis, staging, and treatment for malignant melanoma and will discuss the nursing role in the care of patients with melanoma.
• Melanoma: An Under-recognized Cancer Threat

This article article reviews the treatments for metastatic melanoma including promising investigational approaches.
• The Pathway Ahead in Melanoma Trials
• Treating Metastatic Melanoma: Further Considerations
• The Future of Melanoma Therapy Appears Bright

A 68-year-old woman presented with a mass on the scalp which had been present for approximately 7 years. An incisional biopsy of the scalp mass and excisional biopsy of the lymph node both revealed basal cell carcinoma, micronodular histologic subtype.

A 29-year-old man was presented early in this series as an example of stage IV, poorly differentiated malignant melanoma. As noted previously, evaluation disclosed the presence of multifocal metastatic disease (lungs, lymph nodes).

A healthy 20-year-old woman presents for evaluation 6 months after getting a tattoo on her shoulder. She has "read on the internet" that tattoos can cause cancer, and she wonders whether you would advise her to remove this body art. Family history is positive for both colonic adenocarcinoma (paternal grandfather) and multiple myeloma (maternal grandmother).