Phase II Trial Evaluating Resection Followed By Adjuvant Radiation Therapy (RT) For Patients With Desmoplastic Melanoma

Inclusion Criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

- Histologically confirmed desmoplastic melanoma

- Locally recurrent OR at least 1 mm in depth

- Recurrent tumor is defined as a tumor found no more than 2 cm from the
previous excision or within the surgical bed (which includes the extent of
previous skin flaps)

- Disease resected using standard wide resection or Moh's surgery

- Histologically negative margins

- Tumors on proximal extremities must have a 2 cm negative margin

- Tumors on the head or neck or distal extremities may have margins less than 2 cm
provided they are negative

- No melanoma with focally desmoplastic features, in which the desmoplastic melanoma is
not the predominant histologic pattern of the tumor

- No nondesmoplastic neurotropic or nondesmoplastic spindle cell melanoma

- No evidence of metastatic disease (local nodal disease allowed)

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

Age

- 18 and over

Performance status

- ECOG 0-2

Life expectancy

- At least 1 year

Hematopoietic

- Not specified

Hepatic

- Not specified

Renal

- Not specified

Other

- Not pregnant

- Negative pregnancy test

- Fertile patients must use effective contraception

- No other malignancy within the past 5 years except for the following diseases:

- Basal cell or squamous cell skin cancer

- Carcinoma in situ of the cervix

- Stage I breast cancer adequately treated with adjuvant therapy for which the
patient is currently disease-free

- Stage I or II prostate cancer treated with prostatectomy or radiotherapy with a
biochemically-free disease status (i.e., for radical retropubic prostatectomy
prostate-specific antigen [PSA] < 0.3 and for radiotherapy PSA < 2.0 above the
post-treatment nadir)

- No nonhealing surgical wound

- No active infection at the surgical site

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

Biologic therapy

- No concurrent adjuvant immunotherapy

Chemotherapy

- No concurrent adjuvant chemotherapy

Endocrine therapy

- Not specified

Radiotherapy

- No prior radiotherapy to the focused site of this study

Surgery

- See Disease Characteristics