Pediatric and Adolescent Melanoma Referral Clinic

About the Pediatric and Adolescent Melanoma Referral Clinic

St. Jude is a leader in the treatment of pediatric melanoma and melanoma research. We treat melanoma and give second opinions to patients around the nation and the world.  

The Pediatric and Adolescent Melanoma Referral Clinic is a collaboration among St. Jude, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine and Le Bonheur Children's Hospital.

The clinic’s goal is to provide the best treatment recommendations to referring physicians and their patients. 

Services we provide

• Expert consultations
• Medical exams by leading specialists
• Education about melanoma
• Helpful melanoma resources

If a patient can take part in a St. Jude clinical trial, our center may give them specialized treatments such as:

• Surgery
• Radiation therapy
• Local therapies such as hyperthermic limb perfusion
• Immunotherapy and targeted therapies

Patient eligibility

Patients must be:

• Diagnosed with melanoma or spitzoid melanoma
• Referred by a physician
• Receiving treatment or being followed by a referring doctor who wants a treatment recommendation
• Ages 0–21 years old

Note: At this time, our clinic is not taking patients with ocular melanoma.

The next clinic date will be set soon.

Your Melanoma Referral Clinic team

Your treatment team at the referral clinic includes:

• Pediatric and adult oncologists
• Pediatric dermatologists
• Cancer surgeons

The team may include other experts such as:

What to expect during your visit

Patient families who visit the melanoma clinic are given travel, housing, and meals during their on-site clinical visit (consultation).

After your child’s clinical exam, we give you and your referring doctor a written report. This report has details about the treatment we suggest for your child.

Connect with other families

Pediatric melanoma is rare, so it can be hard to connect with other patients and their families. Our clinic brings patients and families together so they can share their experiences, talk about challenges, and give support.

Patients’ families are also invited to an educational talk by national experts in melanoma.

Take part in melanoma research

St. Jude is a leader in genomic research for cancers that are passed down in families (inherited). Patients are invited to give tumor tissue samples for testing in the lab. This occurs through a St. Jude tissue registry clinical trial. Information from these samples helps us to know more about how people get melanoma and allows us to develop new treatments.
 

Learn more