Melanoma/Skin Cancer Health Center

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Medications

Medicines for melanoma include chemotherapy with a single medicine or several medicines. Medicines for treatment may include immunotherapy or even a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Medication Choices

Medicine for melanoma that has metastasized may include:

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Chemotherapy with medicines such as dacabazine or temozolomide.
Immunotherapy with interferon or interleukin-2.

What To Think About

Chemotherapy used to treat melanoma may be given as an outpatient treatment, but sometimes people need a short hospital stay.

Medicines used for chemotherapy may be taken by mouth or injected into your bloodstream so they can travel throughout your body. If the melanoma is on an arm or leg, chemotherapy medicines may added to a warm solution that is injected into the bloodstream of that limb. The flow of blood to and from that limb is stopped for a short time so the medicine can go right to the tumor. This is called hyperthermic isolated limb perfusion.

Medicines being studied in clinical trials include combinations of chemotherapy, vaccines, and immunotherapies. Clinical trials are also looking at targeted therapy with the monoclonal antibody ipilimumab and a medicine called PLX4032.

WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: February 08, 2011

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.