Research into melanoma skin cancer
Researchers around the world are looking at the causes and treatment of melanoma skin cancer.
Go to Cancer Research UK’s clinical trials database if you are looking for a trial for melanoma skin cancer in the UK. You need to talk to your specialist if there are any trials that you think you might be able to take part in.
Research and clinical trials
All cancer treatments must be fully researched before they can be used for everyone. This is so we can be sure that:
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they work
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they work better than the treatments already available
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they are safe
To make sure the research is accurate, each trial has certain entry conditions for who can take part. These are different for each trial.
Hospitals do not take part in every clinical trial. Some trials are only done in a small number of hospitals, or in one area of the country. You may need to travel quite far if you take part in these trials.
About this research
Some of the research on this page has now stopped asking people to take part. But it takes time before the results are available. This is because the research teams follow the people taking part for a period of time to collect and analyse the information.
We have included information about these to give examples of the types of research being carried out.
Research into the causes of melanoma
Researchers are currently asking for information from people who have melanoma. And people who have had it in the past. The aim is to create a database to support research around the world. Researchers will use the information on the database to find out:
- why some people are more likely to get melanoma
- what affects someone’s risk of getting melanoma
- why melanoma might come back after treatment
- how the
immune system 
is involved in melanoma that has spread to other parts of the body (advanced melanoma) - if there are
biomarkers that can identify people who may have a better response to treatment
Research into treatment for melanoma skin cancer
Researchers are currently looking into lots of different treatments for melanoma skin cancer. This includes:
- surgery
targeted cancer drugs and immunotherapy - vaccines
- radiotherapy
Surgery
Surgery is the main treatment for melanoma skin cancer. Your surgeon will normally remove between 2 and 3 cms of skin around a stage 2 melanoma. This is to help reduce the risk of the cancer coming back. But previous research suggests that they may not need to remove as much tissue. Researchers are looking to see if it is safe to remove 1cm of skin. They also want to see if this reduces the need for extra surgery such as skin grafts.
Researchers are also comparing surgery to remove the groin lymph nodes with surgery to remove groin and lymph nodes. They want to know if one operation is better than the other at stopping melanoma from coming back. And if either operation is better at reducing side effects such as .
Targeted cancer drugs and immunotherapy
Targeted cancer drugs and immunotherapy are important treatments for many people with melanoma. Researchers are looking for new types of these cancer drugs. They hope these will continue to improve treatment and reduce side effects.
They are also exploring new ways to use current targeted cancer drugs and immunotherapy. This includes using them for different stages of melanoma. And looking at how well they work in combination with other cancer drugs and vaccines.
Researchers are also trialling new ways to give these treatments. Such as having them as an injection under your skin (subcutaneous) instead of through a drip into your vein (intravenous). And researching how well these treatments work if they change:
- when you have them
- how often you have them
- how long you have them for
They also want to know if a person's can help predict how well immunotherapy will work. This is because your microbiome affects how your works.
Unfortunately, treatments for melanoma can sometimes stop working. Researchers are trying to find out why this happens. And if they can predict which people are more at risk of it.
Vaccines
Cancer vaccines are a type of immunotherapy. They help your immune system recognise and destroy melanoma cells. These vaccines are different from the vaccines used to protect us from disease.
Researchers are looking at different types of vaccines. Some of these contain small pieces of from cancer cells. Others contain mRNA.
mRNA carries messages from our genes that tell cells what type of protein to make. Researchers think they can give people with melanoma skin cancer a small piece of mRNA from their own melanoma cells. The mRNA will tell their body to make a protein that is the same as one in the melanoma. They hope the body will learn to recognise the new protein as cancer and attack any new cancer cells it finds.
Because the vaccine is made using a person’s own cancer cells, it is called personalised medicine.
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy means using radiation, usually x-rays, to treat cancer. Researchers are currently:
- looking at the best time to give radiotherapy for melanoma that has spread to the brain
- seeing if some types of radiotherapy can stop melanoma coming back if it has spread to the brain
- offering radiotherapy after surgery to people with melanoma in or near the nerves in their head or neck
- seeing if
stereotactic radiotherapy will help some people with melanoma that has spread
Research into the side effects of treatment for melanoma skin cancer
All trials looking at cancer treatment collect information about side effects and quality of life. Some trials may look at particular side effects and how to reduce them.
Dabrafenib and trametinib are targeted cancer drugs used to treat melanoma. A high temperature (fever) is a common side effect of these drugs. Researchers want to improve how doctors manage this side effect. They hope this will lower the number of people needing to go into hospital or have to stop treatment because of the fever.
Research into living with melanoma skin cancer
Sometimes melanoma and its treatment can lead to physical, emotional or financial problems. Researchers want to see how these problems effect people who have targeted cancer drugs. They are also looking to see how this effects the people looking after them.
The researchers hope that by talking to people about their experience, they can understand more about the type of support people need.
