Before you undergo surgical treatment to remove the skin around the primary melanoma, sentinel lymph node biopsy is recommended for Stage I tumors thicker than 1.0 mm and for any ulcerated tumors of any thickness. The purpose is to determine whether any cancer cells have spread to the sentinel node, the first lymph node to receive drainage from the primary tumor. The results of the biopsy will help guide the course of treatment. Sentinel node biopsy is most accurate when it is performed before surgery to remove the tumor and the surrounding skin. (See Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for more information.)

Surgery is the most common treatment for Stage I melanoma. The goal of surgery is to remove any cancer remaining after the biopsy. The procedure is called wide local excision. The surgeon removes the tumor, including the biopsy site, as well as a surgical margin, a surrounding area of normal-appearing skin and underlying subcutaneous tissue. The width of the margin taken depends upon the thickness of the primary tumor. Recent advances in surgery allow surgeons to take narrower margins than before, so a much greater amount of normal skin is preserved. (See Surgery for more information.)

See also Follow-Up Management: Stage I.

About Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are research studies to evaluate new therapies and improve cancer care. These studies are responsible for most of the advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. If you have melanoma, you may be eligible to participate in a clinical trial.

See Clinical Trials to learn more about these studies, or go directly to the Stage I Clinical Trials list.