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Melanoma Home |
Survival Rates |
Medical Staff |
Diagnostics |
Treatment & Technology |
Case Conferences |
Clinical Trials |
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Cancer Education |
Patient Stories
Winning Against Melanoma
Since 1988, Hoag physicians have been involved in the treatment of large numbers of patients with melanoma.
With a multidisciplinary approach that includes prevention, early detection, the use of promising new therapies, participation in laboratory and clinical research, and extensive complementary care, the team at Hoag Cancer Center provides melanoma patients with every diagnostic and therapeutic advantage.
Hoag Cancer Center’s comprehensive site-specific melanoma program provides:
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Survival Rates
Because most melanomas are detected as localized skin lesions, most patients with melanoma are cured by surgical resection. Hoag melanoma patients have a 93 percent relative five-year survival rate compared to 91 percent nationally. 82 percent of Hoag melanoma patients have only locally invasive disease at diagnosis, which is associated with a 100 percent five-year relative survival rate.
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Medical Staff Expertise
Hoag’s expert team of board-certified dermatologists, general surgeons, plastic surgeons, radiation oncologists and medical oncologists provide the latest in state-of-the-art surgical procedures and treatment options for patients with melanoma.
Additionally, Hoag’s expert medical staff is complemented by its highly trained team of certified oncology nurses. Dedicated to delivering patient-centered care, Hoag’s nursing staff ranks among the nation’s top nurses, as validated by Hoag’s designation as a Magnet™ hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
Hoag-Affiliated Melanoma Experts
Obtaining your cancer care from a medical team that treats a high volume of patients with your specific cancer type has its advantages – namely, successful patient outcomes.
Studies show that physicians who treat large numbers of patients with a specific disease achieve better patient outcomes. Hoag physicians treated and managed more than 300 melanoma patients during 2007-2008.
Hoag’s expert medical team and long tradition of high survival rates are just two reasons why patients diagnosed at Hoag remain at Hoag for treatment.
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Diagnostics
For patients with more advanced disease, Hoag’s state-of-the-art diagnostic services give patients convenient access to a full spectrum of technologies that enable doctors to pinpoint the nature and extent of the disease – and the best treatment plan for each individual patient.
Hoag’s sophisticated imaging technology and expert radiologists provide an essential component of service. Detailed images of the tumor site, contours and dimensions help physicians determine an accurate diagnosis and develop an effective treatment plan.
Hoag offers leading-edge, minimally invasive technology that allows physicians to evaluate the presence of cancer which has spread beyond the original site. Some of the advanced imaging techniques at Hoag include:
Early Detection
Cutaneous melanoma is usually detected by visual examination of the skin, and ideally is diagnosed by an excisional biopsy.
Each year Hoag Cancer Center offers Project Sun Safe, an educational program which provides the community with strategies for reducing the risk of melanoma, In addition, Hoag provides several free skin cancer screening programs each year in which Hoag dermatologists examine individuals who are concerned about their skin.
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Treatment/Technology
Hoag Cancer Center’s expert medical team works together to determine the best course of treatment for each individual patient.
Surgery
Surgery is the most important component for successful treatment of melanoma. Hoag dermatologists and surgeons utilize the latest techniques to make a biopsy diagnosis of melanoma, minimize cosmetic defects, and to assess whether melanoma has spread to lymph nodes. Hoag surgeons have been performing the sentinel node procedure utilizing blue dye and radioisotopes for more than 10 years.
During 2007-2008, four Hoag-affiliated surgeons Drs. Beanes, Burns, Chun and Bailey performed the highest volume of surgical procedures on patients with newly diagnosed melanoma.
Radiation Oncology
Although radiation therapy is rarely a part of the initial management of patients with melanoma, the modality is often used to treat metastatic melanoma.
Hoag Cancer Center’s radiation oncology program is yet another example of the center’s commitment to excellence in melanoma treatment. The entire first floor of the cancer center is dedicated to radiation oncology, where a highly specialized team of medical experts deliver the latest in state-of-the-art radiation therapy. For a complete list of radiation oncology services, please click here.
Systemic Therapy
Systemic therapy is an important component of care for patients with metastatic melanoma, or for those who are at high risk for spread of melanoma.
Hoag has 35 board-certified medical oncologists on staff, each of whom is committed to providing the latest in systemic therapy options to patients. Hoag medical oncologists are experienced in the use of interferon-alpha, which is often used as treatment following surgery for patients who have deep melanomas, or melanomas that have spread to lymph nodes.
High-dose Interleukin-2, which has to be administered in the hospital, is often used in efforts to cure patients with metastatic melanoma. Drs. Barth, VanderMolen and Mahdavi have extensive experience in the administration IL-2 therapy. Additionally, Hoag Cancer Center medical oncologistsBurtzo , VanderMolen and Nanci treated the highest numbers of melanoma patients during 2007-2008.
Patient-Specific Melanoma Vaccines
Two unique treatments are available at Hoag – investigational patient-specific vaccines – that can be produced for some patients with metastatic melanoma and recurrent melanoma.
At the time of surgery, portions of the patient’s tumor are sent to Hoag Cell Biology Laboratory, where scientists work to grow a tumor cell line for use in the vaccine. If growth of the cells is adequate, the tumor cells are used to prepare a vaccine which is administered by subcutaneous injection.
More than 120 patients from across the United States have come to Hoag for treatment with these FDA-regulated products, which are only available via investigational treatment protocols. Encouraging results have occurred with both patient-specific vaccine products which are currently being compared in a clinical trial.
For more information about Hoag Clinical Trials, click here or call 949/764-5543.
Treatment of Metastatic Disease
Melanoma can spread to organs in the body including the liver, lung, bone, and brain. Systemic therapies including chemotherapy and/or interleukin-2 are typically used in the treatment of these patients, but local therapies are being used with increasing frequency to eliminate certain sites of metastatic cancer.
For patients with small numbers of metastases to the liver, surgical resection, radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation and tomotherapy are all treatment options, in addition to systemic therapy or intrahepatic chemotherapy.
Isolated lung metastases may be treated by surgical resection, preferably video-assisted thoracic surgery, radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation or radiation therapy.
Bone metastases are typically treated with radiation therapy, whereas brain metastases can usually be effectively treated by Gamma Knife.
With the availability of all of these treatment options, the outlook for patients with metastatic cancer is more hopeful than ever.
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Multidisciplinary Case Conferences
Hoag’s Multidisciplinary Cancer Case Conferences provide collaborative care planning for patients with advanced melanoma that has not been cured by surgery alone.
The Cancer Case Conferences bring together a multidisciplinary team of melanoma specialists, including surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, nurses and support staff.
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Clinical Trials
Hoag Cancer Center has long history of participation in innovative clinical trials for melanoma, including patient-specific vaccine therapies produced by Hoag Cell Biology Laboratory. To learn more about Hoag’s Clinical Trials Department and available trials, please click here.
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Family and Friends Cancer Support Group
This support group provides a unique forum in which patients are able to share concerns and learn more about cancer and its treatment. Designed for cancer patients and their support persons, this group focuses on sharing information and mutual support. The group meets the second Tuesday of each month from 5:30-7:00 p.m. in Hoag Cancer Center Conference Room A. To view Hoag Cancer Center’s Monthly Events Calendar, please click here.
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Hereditary Cancer Program
Most melanomas are caused by a combination of sporadic and environmental factors, but in a small percentage of families, a susceptibility to melanoma may be inherited. In some of these families, there is also an increased risk for pancreatic cancer.
Genetic testing is available for hereditary melanoma; however, there is ongoing debate about the usefulness of this testing. The Melanoma Genetics Consortium has recommended that such testing should only rarely be performed outside of research studies. Reasons for this include the low detection rate (20 to 40 percent when three or more relatives in the immediate family have been diagnosed with melanoma), the variability of information regarding the likelihood of developing cancer in the event of a positive result, and the lack of efficacy of surveillance and prevention strategies.
Hoag offers both commercially available testing, and referral to research studies for individuals with melanoma and a family history of melanoma in at least two close relatives, especially if there is also a family history of pancreatic cancer.
For more information about Hoag’s Hereditary Cancer Program click here or call 949/764-5764.
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Cancer Education
To learn more about melanoma, please visit the National Cancer Institute Website.
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