Other treatments for advanced melanoma

These treatments are usually carried out in specialist centres.

Laser therapy Back to top

A high-intensity beam of light is directed at the affected areas of skin to destroy the melanoma cells. You can have this treatment as an outpatient.

Isolated limb perfusion Back to top

Isolated limb perfusion is is a way of giving chemotherapy| directly into a limb (normally a leg but occasionally an arm). Usually this treatment is carried out if the melanoma is confined to a limb and hasn’t spread anywhere else in the body. But occasionally it’s used in people with advanced melanoma to treat melanoma in a limb even when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Your doctors will let you know if this is a suitable treatment for you.

Isolated limb perfusion gives high doses of chemotherapy to the affected limb without exposing the rest of the body to the drugs. This helps to prevent the side effects chemotherapy usually causes when it circulates around the body. Isolated limb perfusion isn’t widely available and is only carried out in some specialist centres.

Isolated limb infusion Back to top

This is similar to isolated limb perfusion. The procedure is easier to carry out than isolated limb perfusion, but may be less effective. It’s sometimes used if a person can’t have isolated limb perfusion because of health reasons. If isolated limb infusion is a suitable treatment for you, your doctor will give you more information about it.