Can melanoma be cured? These issues need to be paid attention to in the prognosis

Early melanoma is curable, but for late-stage melanoma, the hope of cure is relatively low. The main purpose is to prolong the patient's life cycle. Commonly used treatments include radiotherapy, chemotherapy, interventional therapy, immunotherapy, and other options.

1. Treatment methods

For the treatment of advanced melanoma, the hope of cure is relatively low, and the main purpose is to prolong the patient's life cycle. Commonly used treatment methods include radiotherapy, chemotherapy, interventional therapy, immunotherapy, etc. At present, immunotherapy has the best therapeutic effect. Its unique tumor stem cell killing effect can control the growth of tumor cells, prevent the recurrence and metastasis of tumor cells, and effectively increase the life cycle.

Although radiotherapy and chemotherapy are relatively common treatments for advanced malignant tumors, they are not suitable for every patient. Most patients adopt radiotherapy and chemotherapy when their immunity is low, which may do more harm than good to their condition. Due to the significant side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, if the patient cannot tolerate it, it is very likely to aggravate the progression of the disease. Therefore, when the patient's physical condition does not meet the chemoradiotherapy indicators, immunotherapy or combined immunotherapy can be considered.

2. Prognosis

Depends on the stage at diagnosis. Melanoma that is localized and has no lymph node or distant metastasis has a better prognosis. The survival rate of women in stage I/II is higher than that of men. Primary melanomas of the trunk, head and neck are worse than those of the limbs. Advanced age is inversely proportional to the survival rate of melanoma. Stage III melanoma has a significantly different prognosis: a large number of ulcers and lymph node metastases indicates a poor prognosis. An important prognostic factor for stage IV melanoma is the location of distant metastasis. Visceral metastasis has a worse prognosis than non-visceral (skin and distant lymph nodes) metastasis.