Research - clinical trials for melanoma

You may be offered further treatment as part of a clinical trial. Treatment may be with either interferon or a cancer vaccine.

Vaccines are being used in trials to try to control the growth of melanomas that have already spread. There are several different types of vaccine but they are produced in similar ways.

Research into new ways of treating melanoma is going on all the time.

For stage 2 and 3 melanoma, trials are looking into whether adjuvant treatment reduces the chance of the cancer coming back.

For advanced melanoma, trials are looking at new drugs to see if they are effective at treating melanoma.

Clinical trials can take some time. There can be many benefits in taking part in a trial. You will be helping to improve knowledge about melanoma and the development of new treatments. You will also be carefully monitored during and after the study.

It is important to bear in mind that some treatments which look promising at first are often later found not to be as good as existing treatments, or to have side effects that outweigh any benefits.