Treatment Options For Subungual Melanoma

Radiation Therapy

An individual who has a special case of subungual melanoma with specific circumstances may need to undergo radiation therapy to treat their malignancy. Radiation therapy is a type of cancer treatment that utilizes high energy beams of protons, x-rays, or another form of radiation to cause damage to cancerous cells and stop them from growing. Cases requiring radiation therapy are those where the malignancy has metastasized to the lymph nodes or another tissue in the body. Surgery is still used in the treatment of these individuals to amputate the affected finger or toe and to excise all the affected lymph nodes. 

Following surgery, radiation therapy is utilized to clear the lymph node basin of any leftover cancerous or precancerous cells. Radiation therapy is not always used in cases where only one or two lymph nodes needed to be dissected, but more for cases where extracapsular disease and or bulky lymphadenopathy were present. When subungual melanoma has metastasized to the point of the disease becoming terminal for the patient, radiation therapy may be used as part of palliative treatment to help reduce pain.