Malignant melanoma is the most serious type of cancer of the skin. Each year in the United States, more than 53,600 people learn that they have malignant melanoma. In some parts of the world, especially among Western countries, malignant melanoma is becoming more common every year. In the United States, for example, the percentage of people who develop the disease has more than doubled in the past 30 years.

 Malignant melanoma is one of the most serious types of skin cancer, because advanced malignant melanomas have the ability to spread to other parts of the body. When malignant melanoma starts in the skin, the disease is called cutaneous malignant melanoma. It can also develop in the eye (called intraocular malignant melanoma) or in other parts of the body where pigment cells are found. In rare cases, malignant melanoma may arise in the meninges, the digestive tract, lymph nodes, or other areas where melanocytes are found. Malignant melanomas that begin in areas other than the skin are not discussed in this article.

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