Through education and advocacy projects and in partnership with programs and practices nationwide, ACCC seeks to improve access to quality cancer care for those diagnosed with melanoma.
Although melanoma is a far less common skin cancer than squamous or basal cell carcinoma, it is much more likely to spread to other parts of the body. Only 1 percent of skin cancers are melanomas; however, melanoma is responsible for the vast majority of skin cancer deaths. 1
In 2022, the American Cancer Society estimates that:
As with squamous and basal cell carcinomas, high exposure to ultraviolet radiation is a leading risk factor for melanoma. Other risk factors for melanoma include a personal or family history of melanoma; atypical, large, numerous moles (>50); sun sensitivity; environmental exposures; and immunosuppression.1,2
Advances in immunotherapy and targeted therapies offer new treatment options for advanced melanoma. Since 2011, four new immunotherapy agents have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for mono- and/or combination therapy in patients with melanoma, including a cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) checkpoint inhibitor (intravenous ipilimumab), programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) checkpoint inhibitors (intravenous pembrolizumab and nivolumab), and an oncolytic virus therapy (intralesional talimogene laherparepvec [T-VEC]).3
