Healthcare

Melanoma categorized malignant tumor of skin cancer. The cancer itself not only occur in the skin but also in the eye and bowel.
Although melanoma less common of skin cancer types (about 5%), however it has strong metastatic and resulting difficult to treated. As the results, this nonmelanoma skin cancer contributed almost 80% death risk from affected patients.

Originally, melanoma skin cancer came from arising of cell that produced melanin (pigment that responsible for the skin color, hair, and eye). However from external factor such as excessive sun exposure, solar irradiation, patient with have dysplastic nevus syndrome, and some unknown reasons, it becomes malignant tumor of the skin cancer.

Signs and symptoms of melanoma skin cancer may defined as;
- the changes of existing moles for the shape or/and color
- itchy of the mole
- sore on the skin
- bleeding on the skin
- nausea
- lack of appetite
- fatigue
- vomiting

From I-IV stages, stage 4 or IV of melanoma cancer (higher stage) characterized by the metastatic go to the skin, lymph nodes, and subcutaneous tissue. At this stage, the 5-year survival rate about 7-19% (less than other stages).

The treatment of melanoma skin cancer medically by adjuvant therapy, surgery, and medication categorized interferon alfa or IFN-alpha (especially after excision).
However, these treatments have possible recurrent disease and side effects from IFN-alpha such as toxicity impacts (hepatotoxicitym neurologic toxicity), nausea, loss hair.

Medically, the treatment for stage 4 melanoma skin cancer unfortunately until now have no strong significant improvement. Only the treatment with single-agent decarbazine (DTIC) drug considered as best option with unknown action mechanism and their adverse risk. However the yield only about 10-15%, still high in death risk.