Inclusion criteria, exclusion criteria and study summary
The MyMelanoma project is a large cohort study to which we will seek recruitment of at least 20,000 people treated by the NHS for melanoma of the skin and other body sites other than the eye. A study of great size is required to generate enough data to answer the current most important questions around the causes of melanoma, the factors governing outcomes for affected people, the effect of diagnosis and treatment on quality of life, the risk and nature of drug side effects in the short and long term. It is a key aim also to develop tests to better predict recurrence and response to treatment. Using the model of the UK Biobank this will use online data entry and linked NHS data, in order to build a resource of sufficient size and quality to address the very complex questions that remain for the management of melanoma. It will be an accessible data resource for all bona fide researchers on application to a data release committee. Melanoma survivors have been instrumental in the conceptionalization and design of the MyMelanoma project and will remain so.
