Melanoma cancer

What Is Melanoma
The Skin
Melanocytes and Moles
Understanding Cancer

Melanoma
Dysplastic Nevi
Diagnosis & Staging

Definition of melanoma:
A form of cancer that begins in melanocytes (cells that make the pigment melanin). It may begin in a mole (skin melanoma), but can also begin in other pigmented tissues, such as in the eye or in the intestines.

Estimated new cases and deaths from melanoma in the United States in 2009:

New cases: 68,720
Deaths: 8,650