melanoma

American

[mel-uh-noh-muh] / ˌmɛl əˈnoʊ mə /

noun

plural

melanomas, melanomata

any of several types of skin tumors characterized by the malignant growth of melanocytes.

melanoma British

/ ˌmɛləˈnəʊmə /

noun

pathol a malignant tumour composed of melanocytes, occurring esp in the skin, often as a result of excessive exposure to sunlight

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

melanoma Scientific

/ mĕl′ə-nō′mə /

plural

melanomas

A dark-pigmented benign or malignant tumor that arises from a melanocyte and occurs most commonly in the skin. Malignant melanoma metastasizes quickly and is associated with sun exposure.

melanoma Cultural

A serious, often lethal, form of skin cancer.

Discover More

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun (for example, by too much sunbathing) can cause this disease.

Etymology

Origin of melanoma

First recorded in 1825–35; melan- + -oma

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Keytruda, a type of immunotherapy used in the treatment of melanoma and other cancers, directs the body’s own immune cells toward cancer cells in order to destroy them.

From Barron's

Cancer charities and doctors are clear about the risks of using sunbeds - and say the machines are linked to higher rates of melanoma and other skin cancers.

From BBC

Investors hope positive results from an autogene vaccine trial for melanoma treatment can revive a stock once associated with Covid shots.

From Barron's

“Combining the melanoma cells with healthy rat skin cells to see if we can replicate the kind of alteration in the subject’s anatomy.”

From Literature

The companies currently have eight Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials across multiple tumor types, including melanoma, non-small-cell lung cancer, bladder cancer and renal cell carcinoma.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023