Radiologist reviewing brain scans with a doctorShare on Pinterest
simonkr/Getty Images

Melanoma can spread to many tissues in your body including your brain. Treatment for melanoma that has spread to the brain usually focuses on prolonging life and reducing symptoms.

Melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer and is often associated with a history of sunburns or ultraviolet light exposure. It develops in cells called melanocytes that give your skin its pigment.

Spread to the brain is often associated with a less favorable outlook, but researchers continue to examine new treatments, such as immunotherapy, that may help extend survival.

Read on to learn more about melanoma that has spread to the brain, including symptoms and how it’s treated.

How often does melanoma spread to the brain?

It’s common for people with advanced melanoma to develop spread to the brain. Up to 60% of people with advanced melanoma develop brain metastasis. Melanoma is the third most common cancer that spreads to the brain behind lung and breast cancer.

Melanoma is rarer than other skin cancers but tends to be more aggressive and usually has a less favorable outlook since it’s more likely to spread to distant organs. The spread to distant organs is called metastasizing.

The time for melanoma to spread to distant tissues can vary significantly between people. People with high risk melanoma often develop metastasis within a few years of their initial diagnosis.

In a 2021 study using data from the Netherlands, researchers examined the time it took for melanoma to spread to distant organs in people diagnosed with stage 3 or 4 disease. The researchers reported the average time to spread to the brain as 11.4 months.

Some people with melanoma might not have spread to distant organs for a decade or more. Cancer that spreads many years after its initial diagnosis is often called late metastasis.

Where else does melanoma spread?

From most to least often, melanoma most commonly spreads to your:

  • skin and tissues underneath
  • lungs
  • liver
  • bones
  • brain

Cancer that spreads to your brain can cause many symptoms, such as:

  • headaches
  • vomiting
  • coma
  • changes in mental status
  • personality changes
  • seizures
  • tingling or numbness in your limbs
  • impaired movement
  • problems with your vision
  • paralysis on one side

The symptoms you develop can depend on where in your brain you develop tumors. Some small tumors might not cause noticeable symptoms but might appear on imaging tests, such as an MRI.

It’s possible for your melanoma to also develop in other locations in your body, such as your lungs. If this happens, you might develop additional symptoms such as:

  • shortness of breath
  • a persistent cough
  • trouble breathing

Is melanoma that’s spread to the brain curable?

Once melanoma spreads to the brain, it can be difficult to treat. The goal of treatment for melanoma that has spread to the brain is usually to improve survival since the cancer isn’t generally considered curable.

The main treatments for melanoma that has spread to the brain include:

Melanoma has the highest death rate of any skin cancer. The outlook tends to be less favorable if it spreads to your brain. Without treatment, death often occurs within about 3 months.

Treatment can help prolong your survival and help reduce your symptoms. Before newer treatments were developed, most people lived less than 6 months, with about half of people living less than 4 months.

In a 2023 study, researchers reported half of the people in their group of 105 people with melanoma that had spread to the brain lived at least 6.6 months. Some recent clinical trials have reported even longer survival.

The brain is one of the most common locations that melanoma can spread to. Spread to the brain is often associated with a less favorable outlook and survival.

Researchers are continuing to examine new ways to treat metastatic melanoma. Newer immunotherapy or targeted therapy drugs may help improve survival and reduce your symptoms.