Can melanoma be cured?

Tumors can generally be divided into two types: benign and malignant. The latter are particularly harmful and difficult to treat. Melanoma is a typical malignant tumor. Like other malignant tumors, once diagnosed with melanoma, one will definitely be concerned about the treatment method and hope to get a good solution. So, can melanoma be cured? Let’s take a look below.

Melanoma is one of the malignant tumors with the highest mortality rate. The reason why melanoma is so serious is that it easily metastasizes. Although melanoma mostly occurs on the surface of the skin, as the tumor cells grow they may enter the blood and metastasize to anywhere. The most common sites of metastasis include the lungs, liver, bones, and brain. Therefore, if it is discovered and treated in time to prevent metastasis, it is not impossible to cure melanoma.

Treatment for melanoma includes:

1. Surgical resection: Surgical resection of melanoma is the main treatment method in the early stage. Early resection of the tumor can effectively improve the cure rate. The range and depth of resection of the surrounding skin depends on the thickness and invasion depth of the tumor. If the tumor is shallow, it can be completely removed during the biopsy without the need for surgery. If the tumor is very thick, a wider excision may be necessary. If the excision area is too large, skin grafting is often required, that is, taking some skin from other parts of the body to replace the excised skin. Surgical excision has high requirements on the patient's physical condition. If there are signs of metastasis, surgical excision is not suitable.

2. Chemotherapy: The application of chemotherapy is very extensive. Chemotherapy is the use of cytotoxic drugs to kill tumor cells. Chemotherapy is usually given in cycles. Generally, after one cycle of chemotherapy, there is a period of rest before chemotherapy again, and this cycle is repeated. Considering the side effects of chemotherapy, some patients may not be able to bear it, which requires good care during chemotherapy to help patients complete the chemotherapy course.

3. Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment: Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment of melanoma mostly advocates treatment based on syndrome differentiation. Melanoma is often divided into Qi and blood deficiency type, spleen and kidney yang deficiency type, liver and kidney yin deficiency type, damp-heat type, toxic evil congestion type, and blood stasis type to formulate treatment plans. Usually, Traditional Chinese Medicine is used as an auxiliary treatment. For example, the Chinese medicine ginsenoside Rg3 can be used as an auxiliary chemotherapy to inhibit tumor growth and deterioration and prevent the recurrence and metastasis of the disease. It achieves anti-tumor effects and effectively prevents cancer recurrence and metastasis through four major mechanisms: reversing the differentiation of cancer cells into normal cells, regulating the proliferation cycle of tumor cells, immunomodulating effects, and repairing the damage caused by radiotherapy and chemotherapy in tumor patients.