Skin Melanomas
Stage I
Standard Treatment  Surgery with a wide excision of normal tissue , and a skin graft if necessary, is preferred except when the lesion is on the face. A margin of at least 1 cm (½  in.) and preferably 3 cm (1¼ in.) away from the edges of the tumor is usually maintained on cosmetically less important areas such as the back.

Five-Year Survival  80 to 100 percent 

Stage II 
Standard Treatment  Surgery, as for Stage I, followed by levamisole .

Five-Year Survival 75 to 80 percent 

Stage III 
Standard Treatment  For deep melanomas without palpable lymph nodes , surgery as for Stage I is the standard procedure. If the melanoma was called Stage III because of an enlarged lymph node, that node should be removed and adjuvant levamisole given. The radical removal of all draining lymph nodes at the site is highly controversial and cannot be routinely recommended.