Source: Targeted Oncology, May 2025
For Melanoma Awareness Month, Andrew Pecora, MD, discussed melanoma prevention and treatment. Pecora emphasized the importance of lifelong UV protection, regular skin exams, and early detection.
“[Anyone] can have melanoma. Although the likelihood of some [individuals] getting melanoma is less, it is not zero,” Pecora, chief of the skin and sarcoma division at John Theurer Cancer Center, and professor of medicine and oncology of Georgetown University Medical Center, told Targeted Oncology™ in an interview. “[Oncologists] have to understand the patient in front of [them] and their unique risk. It is not only their behavior, but their disposition.”
In the interview, Pecora debunked common misconceptions about melanoma, highlighting its occurrence in non-sun-exposed areas and in people of all ages, detailed advancements in targeted therapies and immunotherapies, which have significantly improved survival rates, and stressed the need for oncologists to educate patients on skin exams.