Project Details

Description of project aims



MyMelanoma is an extremely large study of melanoma patients being treated in the UK National Health Service. MyMelanoma will collaborate with other researchers internationally when appropriate

The knowledge of the biological basis of melanoma and its treatment has increased enormously as a result of international research in the last 30 years. This progress has escalated in very recent years, resulting in the transformation of treatment of advanced disease (American Joint Committe on Cancer, AJCC stage IV) from a disease which was almost universally fatal to one in which 50% of patients benefit from immunotherapy.

MyMelanoma will build a cohort of 20K melanoma patients using digital data entry and NHS records of consenting patients, to answer the key remaining questions as we see them in 2021. Melanoma survivors have contributed to the debate around priorities for research and MyMelanoma will continue to be driven by patients whose voices will continue to be heard by the MyMelanoma Board and the MyMelanoma Information section of this website.

The work which has led to the current situation for melanoma patients took place in studies of smaller numbers of patients, and each looked at relatively simple questions eg does drug A help more than drug B? Now the questions are more complicated eg how can we identify which patients will do best with drug A and which would do best with drug B? These questions are especially complicated because the evidence suggests that the answer to this and many other questions is that a range of factors will need to be taken into account. Factors such as the genetic inheritance of the patient, the different genetic changes in their cancer cells, the patients' lifestyles. Whenever scientists look at complicated multifaceted interactions, then the necessary size of the study needs to be much greater. This is the reason why MyMelanoma is needed.

In the past, carrying out a study of 20K melanoma patients would have been prohibitively expensive and would have taken up too much time in the clinic. As a result of a national multidisciplinary team cancer service in the UK, and national data collection from the NHS, and benefitting from patient self registration on line, this is now possible.

Layman's description

Despite advances in melanoma care, worldwide doctors diagnose hundreds of new cases of melanoma daily and this is increasing with the 15–34-year-old age group more vulnerable. Our aim is to develop the first digital platform, creating real data derived from a patient centered collaboration with researchers, medics and scientists, to enable better care and cure in the next 10 years. With the mantra " Involve, Research, Care, Cure " at its core, MyMelanoma is a one-of-a-kind and collaborative research project working with melanoma sufferers to facilitate the most ambitious melanoma patient study ever conducted.
StatusActive
Effective start/end date1/01/22 → …

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