Occasionally, radiation therapy, or radiotherapy, is used to treat melanoma. Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy rays to damage cancer cells and stop them from growing. Like surgery, radiation therapy affects only the cells in the treated area. Radiation therapy is most commonly used to help control symptoms of melanoma that has spread to the brain.
If the melanoma has spread to the brain (metastasized), radiation therapy may be used on the whole brain or the doctor may locate tumors deep within the brain and target them with localized radiation (stereotactic radiotherapy).
Palliative radiotherapy, which is used to relieve cancer symptoms, may be used, especially for patients with a rare condition called leptomeningeal disease (LMD). In these patients, tumors form in the pia mater (a fine membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord) and the arachnoid membrane (which surrounds the pia mater).
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