Melanoma is primarily a disease of the skin typical of young, melanoma, but it can happen to people at any age. Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that usually begins in the skin, either in a mole or in normal skin. About 7000 people in the UK are diagnosed with melanoma each year. It begins in skin cells called melanocytes. Melanocytes produce the substance that gives skin its color. Although the number of people who develop melanoma is increasing, is still a rare type of cancer. The body consists of many types of cells. Normally, cells grow, divide and die. Sometimes, cells mutate (change) and begin to grow and divide faster than normal cells.

Causes of Melanoma

The main causes of melanoma are: UV radiation and skin cancer - UV radiation is a major cause in the formation of AOF this disease.

Other factors in melanoma

1) tanning salons also expose your body to UV radiation and increase their risk of developing melanoma
2) The inheritance. A small percentage of people who develop melanoma have a family history of disease. Being a parent, child or sibling with melanoma increases their risk. In addition, some families are affected by a disease called familial atypical multiple mole melanoma (FAMMM) syndrome.
3) combination of genetic and environmental factors.
4) atypical moles
5) The alteration of the immune system, especially if you have had an organ transplant, leukemia or lymphoma.

Treatment of Melanoma

The treatment of melanomas that have spread beyond the skin
Surgical excision. It is very difficult to cure melanoma that had spread beyond the skin. Surgery, but the removal of a melanoma that has spread (metastatic melanoma) can often provide relief of symptoms - sometimes for years. If this is an option for you will depend on whether the cancer is and how severe it is, their own wishes and overall health.
Chemotherapy. This form of treatment uses drugs to destroy cancer cells. Two or more drugs are often given in combination and may be administered intravenously, in pill form or both - usually four to six months. Melanoma has long been thought to be resistant to most forms of chemotherapy, but new chemotherapy regimens are being studied and developed. In the meantime, chemotherapy is sometimes used to relieve symptoms in people with advanced metastatic melanoma.
Radiation therapy. This treatment uses high energy X-rays to kill cancer cells. It is sometimes used to help relieve the symptoms of skin cancer that has spread to other organs. Fatigue is a common side effect of radiation therapy, but their energy usually return once treatment is completed.
Biological therapy (immunotherapy). This form of treatment is designed to help your immune system fight disease. Involves the use of biological response modifiers (BRMs) - substances that the body normally produces in response to infection. BRMs such as interleukin-2 and interferon is now produced in laboratories for use in treating cancer and other diseases.
Gene therapy. One area of great interest to researchers, this therapy generally focuses on the addition of genes to cancer cells. One approach, which has had limited success, is to replace some of the damage to genes that appear to be responsible for the growth of abnormal cells