EVERY parent watching their children playing in the sun is conscious that being severely sunburnt, especially in childhood, is one of the most important factors in the development of melanomas.

Other known risk factors are a family history; one close relative who has had the disease multiplies someone’s chance of developing a melanoma from sixfold to eightfold. Another common risk factor is having a pale complexion, with fair skin and red or blond hair, or having a large number of dysplastic, irregular moles.

Despite the fear that melanoma induces, the good news is that the five-year cure rate, if the disease is caught early, is already nearly 100 per cent. Achieving this depends on the position of the cancerous mole and the quality of the treatment. If the malignant mole is easily visible the prognosis is good, but if it is on the back or, even more dangerously, hidden between toes or in the groin, it is bad. Some melanomas spread rapidly.

The news from the National Cancer Institute that they have achieved appreciable success in two out of seventeen patients who would otherwise have died by using genetically treated T-cells, the foot soldiers of the body’s immune system, is encouraging.

It not only heralds the first step to treating cases of mela- noma, but also may have greater applications in other cancers.

Unfortunately, melanoma is one of the peculiar cancers in which there is often recurrence after apparently successful initial treatment. It will be a long time before we know how the story of these two patients’ cancer ended and only then can we assess the place that this treatment will have in the care of patients.

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