|  | Conditions Treatments | Diseases

Liver Melanoma Treatment

About 7,000 people in the U.S. die of melanoma every year. Melanoma is a type of cancer that occurs in the skin, but, in rare cases, can also occur in parts of the face, vagina, throat and esophagus. Melanoma of the skin usually occurs in adults who have had extreme exposure to the sun and e used tanning beds excessively. If the skin cancer has spread to other tissues, including the liver, treatment may be more difficult.

  1. Stage IV (Metastatic) Melanoma

    • Stage IV is a critical stage, when skin cancer has spread to other organs such as the liver. Most patients with Stage IV melanoma have less than a 50 percent chance of surviving five years or more. If the lymph nodes are tender or swollen, the melanoma may have spread. The metastatic melanoma treatment controls symptoms and reduces complications, but is not meant to cure the cancer.

    Surgery

    • Surgery is the first step in the liver melanoma treatment (Stage IV). Surgery can be performed to remove the cancer, although reconstructive surgery may also be needed to repair any scarring. Additional liver cancer treatments, however, are needed following the surgeries to combat cancerous cells in the body, thereby increasing the odds of remission.

    Radiation

    • In radiation therapy, high doses of radiation are given to patients in order to shrink the metastatic melanoma in the liver. Usually administered regularly for a total of six weeks, radiation destroys cancer cells, stopping them from multiplying while leaving healthy cells relatively unharmed. Melanoma is usually not cured from radiation treatment, but pain is often greatly reduced. Side effects of radiation therapy include fatigue, skin dryness and vomiting.

    Chemotherapy

    • Chemotherapy can also be part of liver melanoma treatment. Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment that uses medication in order to fight cancer cells. In chemotherapy, medication is introduced into the bloodstream, effectively killing cancerous tissues throughout the body. Chemotherapy can be taken orally or intravenously (IV), and usually has severe side effects, such as vomiting and nausea.

    Immunotherapy

    • In immunotherapy, the body's own immune system is used to treat the disease. The immune system is boosted through the use of several types of immunotherapy, such as biologics (protein-based drugs), allergy shots and cytokines (proteins).

Diseases - Related Articles