Melanoma Unit
Calvary Mater Newcastle Melanoma Unit provides a full range of services for management of melanoma from early detection, surgical management, medical treatment and palliative care.
Surgical management is carried out by a team of surgeons. Surgical staff include Dr. Ralph Gourlay, Dr. Linda Fenton and Dr. Richard Levy. The Unit is participating in an international trial to determine if a full lymph node dissection is needed if melanoma is detected in so called “sentinel lymph nodes” near the site of the primary cancer.
The Nurse Unit Manager is Kelly Crawford - contact 4921 1116.
Patients must be referred by their local doctors to surgeons in the Unit. When you have your referral, please contact the Unit on 02 4985 0100.
If you call our reception and you reach voicemail please leave a message and someone will return your call within five days.
If you are a medical professional and wish to contact a clinical staff member, please call after 4.30pm. If you reach our voicemail, please leave a message and we will return your call as soon as we can.
Professor Peter Hersey is the Unit’s Director of Research. When appropriate, patients are given the opportunity of participating in clinical trials for new therapies for melanoma. Many of these are sponsored by international trial organisations or pharmaceutical companies.
Dr. Pauline Hanrahan is the Unit’s Trials Co-ordinator – Telephone (02) 4985 0179.
Current trials include:
- High dose interferon or observation – sponsored by Eastern Co-operative Oncology Group (ECOG), USA.
Eligibility – Patients with primary melanoma greater than 1.5mm in thickness or with one involved sentinel lymph node may be eligible for this trial. Randomized control study. - Chemotherapy with DTIC plus or minus an inhibitor of a growth factor for melanoma called Bosantin – sponsored by Actelion.
Eligibility – Patients with metastatic melanoma and no previous chemotherapy. Randomized control Phase II study. - Chemotherapy with DTIC plus or minus an antibody which enhances immune responses (Anti CTLA-4 Ticilimumab) – sponsored by Pfizer.
Eligibility – Patients with metastatic melanoma and no previous chemotherapy. Randomized control study. - Chemotherapy with Paclitaxel and Carboplatin plus or minus oral Sorafenib. Sorafenib (Nexotar) is an agent which inhibits treatment resistance pathways in melanoma cells. Sponsors are Onyx/Bayer.
Eligibility – Patients with metastatic melanoma who have failed previous chemotherapy. Randomized control study. - Immunotherapy with antibodies (anti CTLA-4 Ticilimumab) which increase immune responses against melanoma – sponsored by Pfizer.
Eligibility – Patients who have failed chemotherapy with standard chemotherapy. Non-randomized phase II study. - Additional studies are proposed with an inhibitor of treatment resistance pathways (anti heat shock protein) and with another antibody against CTLA-4 (MDX-010) in patients who have failed previous treatments.
Please contact Professor Peter Hersey (02) 49850 100 or Dr Pauline Hanrahan (02) 4985 0179 for further information about these studies.
The High Risk Clinic, conducted by Dr John Sippe, caters for people in the community who are at high risk of developing melanoma, such as people with a large number of naevi or dysplastic naevi. Patients need to be referred by their own local doctor. Please telephone (02) 4985 0100 for further enquiries.
If you wish to send us a fax, please dial (02) 4985 0101.