UofL Department of Surgery Surgical Oncologists are engaged in two studies that offer enhanced treatment options for melanoma patients.

The first, directed by UofL Department of Surgery Chair Dr. Kelly McMasters is designed to study gene expression patterns in the lymph nodes of patients whose melanoma has not spread beyond the primary site.

Overall, 15 to 20 percent of these patients with cancer-free lymph nodes eventually go on to develop metastases and ultimately die from their disease. McMasters and his team are trying to identify these high-risk node-negative patients who might benefit from additional therapy.

While other research has focused on molecular detection of melanoma cells in sentinel lymph nodes in order to identify the node-negative patients likely to experience recurrence, we have not found that such methods are reliable, McMasters said. In high-risk patients, it is likely true that melanoma cells regularly travel through the lymphatic system to sentinel nodes, whether we can detect the presence of such cells in the nodes or not.

The second study led by Dr. Robert Martin , Chief, Division of Surgical Oncology, offers hope to patients with metastatic melanoma to the liver. The study's purpose is to test the safety and effectiveness of a study device that might help kill liver tumors in people with this condition. The study device consists of thousands of tiny round beads that together are known as 'LC Bead'. LC Bead is coated with a chemotherapy drug called doxorubicin.

Melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer, is the fifth most common cancer in American men and the seventh most common in American women, killing more than 8,000 Americans annually.