A study to find out if diet and lifestyle can affect the chances of melanoma coming back after treatment

Please note - this trial is no longer recruiting patients. We hope to add results when they are available.

Cancer type:

Melanoma

Skin cancer

Status:

Closed

Phase:

Other

This is a study looking at whether diet and other lifestyle factors can affect the risk of melanoma coming back after it has been treated (a recurrence). We know that diet and certain lifestyle factors affect our health and risk of getting some types of cancer. But we don’t know the role these things play after melanoma has been diagnosed.

In this study, the researchers are looking at the diet and lifestyle of people who have had melanoma. They will look at levels of vitamins and other markers in the blood. They will also collect information about your medical history and any medicines you take. Some people taking part in the trial will have had melanoma that has come back and some will not.

The aim of the study is to learn more about how diet and lifestyle factors affect the risk of melanoma coming back.

Who can enter

You can enter this trial if you

Have had melanoma that was stage 1, 2 or 3A when it was first diagnosed (your doctor will advise you on this)
Are having (or used to have) follow up appointments at one of the hospitals taking part in the study

Trial design

The study will recruit over 800 people in the UK who have had melanoma. Half the people will have melanoma that has come back and the other half will not.

After treatment for melanoma, you continue to have follow up appointments for a number of years. At one of these appointments your doctor may ask you to take part in this study. If your melanoma hasn’t come back, your doctor will invite you to join the trial 5 years after you finished your treatment. If your melanoma does come back, they will ask you when this happens.

If it is more than 5 years since you finished your treatment, and your melanoma has not come back, you may get a letter asking you to take part in the study.

If you agree to take part, the researchers will have permission to look at your medical notes. And the trial team will ask you to fill in a questionnaire. This will ask questions about how often you eat different types of food. It will also ask about any diet supplements you take and how much time you have spent in the sun, both before and after you had melanoma.

The researchers will get tissue samples from the surgery you had to remove your melanoma and from any other biopsies Open a glossary item you have had. They will also ask you for a blood sample.

They will use half the blood sample to look for levels of vitamins and minerals. And the other half to look at your DNA, to try and find genes that may increase the risk of melanoma coming back. The blood sample will be stored safely and will only ever be used for research purposes.

Hospital visits

The trial team will send you the questionnaire for you to fill in at home. They will give you a stamped, addressed envelope for you to send it back. They will also send you bottles for your blood sample. You can have the blood test at the hospital clinic or at your GP surgery.