Can Melanoma Come Back?

People who have already had melanoma do have a risk of the cancer returning. Most of the time, if melanoma comes back after a successful treatment, it starts with some cancer cells that were left over from the first treatment. This does not mean that your treatment wasn't the right one, or that you did anything wrong. Somehow, a tiny number of cancer cells, that no one could have detected, may not respond to treatment the first time. If they grow into a tumor over time, this is called a recurrence of the cancer.

The second melanoma may not necessarily be in the same part of the body as the first. The cancer cells that survived may have spread to another place. If that happens, it is called a metastasis.

INTRON® A is the one and only medication for people with high-risk malignant melanoma that has been shown to improve both:

relapse-free survival (living without the disease coming back) and
overall survival

Treatment Choices

There are various treatment choices for melanoma that comes back. Your treatment will depend partly on:

The type of treatment you had before.
Where the cancer has recurred.

Your doctor will discuss your treatment options with you.

Glossary

Cancer: A general term for more than 100 different diseases that involve the uncontrolled increase of abnormal new cells. These cells form tumors that can destroy surrounding tissue and spread throughout the body.
Cell: The individual unit that makes up the tissues of the body. All living things are made up of one or more cells.
Malignant: Cancerous; cells that can invade and destroy nearby tissue and spread to other parts of the body.
Melanoma: A highly malignant type of skin cancer that arises in melanocytes, the cells that produce pigment. Melanoma usually begins in a mole.
Metastasis: The spread of cancer cells from their point of origin to other parts of the body by way of the bloodstream or the lymphatic system.
Recurrence: The reappearance of a cancer after a period of remission.
Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue that results from excessive cell division. Tumors perform no useful body function. They may either be benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).