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Radiotherapy for Melanoma

Radiotherapy (also called radiation therapy) uses a high-energy beam to kill cancer cells. It isn’t used as often as surgery or drug treatments for melanoma, but it can play an important role in certain situations. It is occasionally used after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells, or when surgery isn’t possible. It may also be used to help treat pain or other symptoms of melanoma that has spread.

How radiotherapy works

To minimise damage to normal tissue, many beams of radiation may be aimed from different angles so that they meet at the tumour. This delivers more radiation to the melanoma than to the healthy cells around it.50,51

When radiotherapy is used for melanoma

Your medical team may consider radiotherapy in a few different situations, including:

  • After surgery (adjuvant treatment): to help destroy any melanoma cells that may remain and reduce the risk of it coming back in that area.
  • When surgery isn’t possible: as an alternative way to treat the melanoma.
  • To relieve symptoms: where melanoma has spread, radiotherapy can help ease pain or other symptoms and improve comfort. This is known as palliative radiotherapy.

Whether radiotherapy is right for you depends on your individual situation, including the stage of your melanoma. Our guide to melanoma treatment by stage explains what’s usually considered at each stage.

What to expect from treatment

Radiotherapy for melanoma is usually given as a series of short sessions over a period of time, though how many you need and how often varies from person to person. The treatment itself is painless — it’s similar to having an X-ray, and you won’t feel the radiation. Your radiotherapy team will explain your specific treatment plan, how long it will last, and what each session involves.

Side effects

Radiotherapy can cause side effects, which are often focused on the area being treated — for example, the skin in that area may become red, sore or irritated, a little like sunburn. Tiredness is also common. Most side effects are temporary and settle after treatment finishes, though your team will explain what to expect in your case and how any effects can be managed. Always let your team know about any new or worsening symptoms so they can support you.

Questions to ask your doctor about radiotherapy

  • How long does treatment last?
  • How often will I have radiotherapy?
  • Will I feel any pain?
  • What are the side effects of radiotherapy?
  • What problems do I need to watch for after radiotherapy?
  • Are there any long-term side effects?

You’re not facing this alone

Being told you need radiotherapy can raise a lot of questions. Whatever stage you’re at, our melanoma support team and community are here to help, and you can read real patient stories from others who’ve been through treatment themselves. 💛

Click HERE for a full list of REFERENCES numbers listed throughout the site (nos. 1–58)

Available Treatments

Treatment By Stage

The treatment your team recommends depends heavily on the stage of your melanoma, from stage 0 through to stage 4. Our stage-by-stage guide explains what each one means and the options usually considered at each.
Treatment By Stage

Targeted Therapies

Targeted therapies work on specific genetic changes inside melanoma cells — most commonly in a gene called BRAF — which is why you may be offered a BRAF test. They're an option for people whose melanoma carries these changes.
Targeted Therapies

Surgery for Melanoma

For most people with melanoma, surgery is the first and main treatment — and often the only one needed when the melanoma is found early. It involves removing the melanoma along with a margin of surrounding skin, and sometimes checking nearby lymph nodes.
Surgery for Melanoma
Stage IV Melanoma Treatment Options Decision Guide

Stage IV Melanoma Guide

This booklet is for anyone diagnosed with — or being evaluated for — stage 4 melanoma, the most advanced stage, where the melanoma has spread beyond where it started. It's designed to help you understand and weigh up your treatment options.
Stage IV Melanoma Guide
Second opinion from DR or Melanoma

Second Opinion

It's completely normal to want reassurance about your diagnosis or treatment plan, and you have every right to ask for a second opinion. It won't offend your medical team — it's a recognised part of your care.
Second Opinion
radiotherapy treatment for melanoma

Radiotherapy for Melanoma

Radiotherapy uses carefully targeted radiation to treat melanoma. It isn't used as often as surgery or drug treatments, but it can play a role in certain situations, such as treating melanoma that has spread.
Radiotherapy for Melanoma

Other Therapies

Some less common treatments, such as isolated limb infusion (ILI) and isolated limb perfusion (ILP), may be recommended when melanoma is confined to one area, such as an arm or leg. These deliver treatment directly to the affected limb.
Other Therapies

Learn about BRAF – watch our video

Around half of people diagnosed with melanoma have a change in their cancer cells called a BRAF V600E gene mutation. Watch our short video to understand what BRAF means and why it matters for your treatment options.
Learn about BRAF – watch our video

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy works by helping your own immune system recognise and attack melanoma cells. It's often used for melanoma that has spread or has a higher risk of returning, and several immunotherapy treatments are now available on the NHS.
Immunotherapy
Removal of Melanoma

Excision

Local excision is where the abnormal mole or area of skin is removed and sent to a laboratory for testing. It's a relatively simple operation and is often the first step in diagnosing and treating melanoma.
Excision

Next Steps

Follow up appointments with your GP after Melanoma

FOLLOW UP APPOINTMENTS

Your follow-up care depends on the stage of the melanoma. Follow-up appointments allow your doctor to monitor for possible recurrence of the melanoma.
FOLLOW UP APPOINTMENTS
Aftercare advice to follow after Melanoma

MELANOMA AFTER CARE

It’s important to regularly check yourself for any signs of melanoma. As you have already been diagnosed with melanoma, you are at a higher than average risk of having another melanoma in the future.
MELANOMA AFTER CARE

MELANOMA FURTHER TESTS

If the initial biopsy shows melanoma, you may need further tests. Understanding the extent of the melanoma can help your doctor decide the best treatment option for you.
MELANOMA FURTHER TESTS

MELANOMA SKIN BIOPSY

If your doctor does find a suspicious mole, a sample of tissue is removed (a biopsy) for examination under a microscope. The doctor first numbs the skin with an injection of a local anaesthetic
MELANOMA SKIN BIOPSY
Getting diagnosed for Melanoma

GETTING DIAGNOSED WITH MELANOMA

See your doctor if you develop a new mole or notice a change in an existing mole or area of your skin (including under your nail). Even if you’re worried about what this might be, you shouldn’t delay seeing them. It might not be cancer.
GETTING DIAGNOSED WITH MELANOMA