Radiation Therapy for Melanoma Skin Cancer

Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays or particles to kill cancer cells. It is not often used to treat melanoma skin cancer, but it might be helpful in some situations.

When might radiation therapy be used to treat melanoma?

Radiation therapy is not needed for most people with melanoma on the skin, although it might be useful in certain situations.

If surgery can’t be done

Radiation might be an option to treat some early-stage melanomas if surgery can’t be done for some reason.

After surgery (adjuvant treatment)

Radiation might be used after surgery if there’s a high risk that the melanoma might come back. For example, it’s often used after surgery for an uncommon type of melanoma known as desmoplastic melanoma, which has a higher risk of recurring after surgery.

It might also be used after lymph node surgery in the area where lymph nodes were removed, especially if many of the nodes contained cancer cells. This is to lower the chance that the cancer will come back.

If melanoma has spread or come back

Radiation might be used to treat melanoma that has come back after surgery, either in the skin or lymph nodes, or to help treat distant spread of the disease.

• If melanoma has come back in the place where it started and further surgery isn’t likely to be helpful, radiation therapy might be an option.
• Radiation might help relieve symptoms caused by the spread of melanoma to other parts of the body, especially to the brain or bones.

Treatment with the goal of relieving symptoms is called supportive or palliative care. Palliative radiation therapy is not expected to cure the cancer, but it might help shrink it or slow its growth for a time to help control symptoms.

How is radiation therapy given?

External beam radiation therapy is the main type of radiation therapy used. It focuses a beam of radiation from a machine onto the cancer.

Before treatments start, your radiation team will take careful measurements to find the correct angles for aiming the radiation beams and the proper dose of radiation. This planning session is called simulation.

The treatment schedule can vary based on the goal of treatment and where the melanoma is. The total dose of radiation is typically divided into smaller doses called fractions, which are given as treatments over several days to weeks.

Each treatment is much like getting an x-ray, but the radiation is stronger. The procedure itself is painless. The treatment lasts only a few minutes, although the process of getting you into place for treatment usually takes longer.

Possible side effects of radiation therapy

Side effects of radiation are usually limited to the area getting radiation. Common side effects can include:

• Sunburn-like skin problems
• Changes in skin color
• Hair loss where the radiation enters the body
• Fatigue
• Nausea, if radiation is aimed at the abdomen

These side effects often go away after treatment.

Radiation therapy to the brain can sometimes cause memory loss, headaches, trouble thinking, or reduced sexual desire. Usually, these symptoms are minor compared with those caused by a tumor in the brain, but they might still affect a person’s quality of life.