Melanoma is the most frequently fatal skin disease with a rapidly increasing number of new cases worldwide. The number of patients suffering from melanoma doubles approximately every seven years.
Symptoms
Warning symptoms of malignant melanoma can include enlargement, colour change and itching of moles or changes to areas of skin.
Causes
UV radiation is considered to be the most important environmental cause of melanoma.
Diagnosis
A medical specialist with appropriate experience can usually determine whether it is a malignant melanoma by examining the suspicious area of skin. If there is any doubt, the suspected area of skin is removed in its entirety with a safety margin and examined under a microscope. The PET scan is very suitable for further diagnosis.
Therapy
The most important form of treatment is surgical removal of the primary tumour. In later stages, when the tumour has already spread to the skin, lymph nodes and internal organs, a whole range of treatment options are used. These generally only lead to a temporary improvement, but usually offer no prospect of a cure.
The treatment options include classic chemotherapy, immunotherapy with interferon, vaccination therapy or radiotherapy. There are now a large number of new targeted and successful therapies such as treatment with vemurafinib (b-raf kinase inhibitor).
Another therapeutic option aims to stimulate the immune system (cancer immunotherapy). The active ingredient ipilimumab has been authorised for this since 2011.
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