Wide Excision
Stage III melanoma is usually initially treated via surgical removal of the tumor. Stage III melanoma is usually removed using a process called wide excision. Side excision takes away more healthy tissue than other surgical strategies in order to ensure that as much of the cancerous tissue as possible is removed. The amount of healthy tissue removed depends on the thickness of the melanoma; if the melanoma is between one to two millimeters wide, then one to two centimeters of healthy tissue will be removed. For tumors that are thicker than two millimeters, two centimeters of healthy tissue will be removed from around the tumor. This is done because tissue that appears healthy will actually have cancer cells in it. Usually the margins of the removed tissue are examined using a microscope to make sure that there are no cancer cells in the supposedly healthy tissue.
Lymph Node Dissection
Because stage III melanoma is used to describe melanoma that has already begun to spread throughout the body, lymph node dissection is usually required. With a lymph node dissection, all of the lymph nodes in the area around the melanoma are removed and examined by a pathologist using a microscope. This is done to see how far through the lymphatic system the melanoma has spread. Successful lymph node dissection will help get more of the cancer out of the body and reduce the risk of recurrence.
Adjuvant Therapy
Adjuvant therapy describes therapy that is given after the melanoma has been surgically removed in an attempt to kill off any remaining cancer cells. One common form of adjuvant therapy involves the injection of a chemical called interferon. Interferon is a chemical that activates the immune system to attack the melanoma cells and kill them. Other kinds of adjuvant therapy include the injection of another chemical, called interleukin-2, directly into the melanoma, which causes increased activity of the immune system. Some patients also benefit from chemotherapy or radiation treatment, though these treatment modalities are not as commonly used as they are for other types of cancer.
