Melanoma Center

Advanced Preventative Care and Treatment for Every Type of Melanoma

Welcome to the Columbia Melanoma Center

Our Melanoma Center is designed to give you the comprehensive care and attention you deserve. With access to a multidisciplinary team, our patients benefit from a coordinated approach to treating, managing, and preventing every type of melanoma. You’re in good hands with us. Benefits of our center include:

  • We offer patients personalized treatment plans according to their specific needs. These may include standard screenings for low-risk patients to full body scans for patients at a higher risk. We also offer advanced therapies including immunotherapy, giving our patients even more hope against aggressive forms of melanoma.
  • Our surgeons are skilled and experienced in a range of procedures, from standard mole removals to more complex resections and plastic surgery reconstruction. Our experienced and diverse group of surgeons allow patients to get all their needs met in one place.
  • As a major academic facility, we are constantly conducting research to improve our understanding of melanoma and other skin cancers. As a result, our patients can get access to clinical trials for promising treatments.

Call us at (212) 305-0273 to make an appointment.

We’re located at:

Washington Heights-NYP/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (Main Campus)
161 Fort Washington Avenue, New York
New York, NY 10032
Get maps & directions to our office

Bronxville-NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester
1 Pondfield Road
Bronxville, NY 10708

Hudson Valley-NYP/Hudson Valley Hospital
1985 Crompond Road, Building E
Corlandt Manor, NY 10567

Englewood Office/Holy Family Medical Center
25 Rockwood Place, Suite 330
Englewood, NJ 07631


Our Programs and Services

The Melanoma Center’s extensive list of patient programs and services ensures that your treatment is comprehensive and tailored to your needs. Learn more about what we can do to treat melanoma, help you recover, and prevent it from recurring. 

Scans and Screenings

Your comprehensive care begins with a thorough screening from your scalp to your toes by one of our dermatologists. This visual check helps us catch any signs of possible cancer so we can treat it and keep it from spreading further. 

For high-risk patients, we offer full body scans with MoleMap technology. This procedure images as much skin as possible, then uses a dermoscopic camera that takes detailed photographs of any moles, lesions, or other potentially cancerous spots. These images are then studied by a dermatologist and can be archived for reference later, helping us track the progress of certain areas and improve your treatment plan. This procedure is non-invasive.

Non-Surgical Therapies

We offer the full spectrum of non-surgical options for your melanoma treatment. This includes general chemotherapy as well as targeted radiation therapy. For instance, gamma knife surgery is a completely non-invasive form of radiation that lets us send beams of highly focused gamma radiation at a tumor or lesion, sparing healthy skin while destroying the cancer.

Surgical Therapies

If surgery is needed, you will get access to a talented team of surgeons experienced at excising cancerous or precancerous tissue with minimal scarring. In order to detect if your cancer has spread further, we may also perform a sentinel lymph node biopsy — allowing us to come up with the most effective treatment plan for you.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a type of treatment that uses the body’s immune system to attack cancerous cells. If you have malignant melanoma, you will get access to one of the most several forms of immunotherapy: (1) immune checkpoint blockade using CTLA-4 and PD-L1/PD-1 antibodies, (2) CAR T cell immunotherapy, and (3) interleukin-2 (we are one of the only high-dose IL-2 center in New York City.)

Research and Clinical Trials

As one of the nation’s largest academic centers, we are constantly conducting new research on melanoma. This means you will have the opportunity to participate in any of our ongoing clinical trials, giving you early access to promising new treatments.

See Clinical Trials on RecruitMe
See Additional Clinical Trials


To take advantage of our programs and services, call us at (212) 305-0273 to make an appointment.


Meet Our Team

Patients who come to Columbia’s Melanoma Center will find a multidisciplinary team of doctors, surgeons, and nurses who are committed to the study, treatment, and prevention of all forms of melanoma.

Surgical Oncologists

An oncological surgeon is a doctor who specializes in the surgical treatment of cancer. They are responsible for performing surgical biopsies, as well as for conducting any surgical procedures to remove tumors or treat cancerous areas. 

Dr S. Sunghyun YoonS. Sunghyun Yoon, MD

 

Dr Bret TabackBret Taback, MD

 

Dermatologists

A dermatologist is a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions related to the skin, scalp, nails, and mucous membrane. They do the initial examination for any moles, lesions, or other suspicious marks that may be a sign of melanoma. They’ll likely be one of the first doctors you see.

Laura J. Geskin, MD
Dermatologist

 

Medical Oncologists

An oncologist is a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. They help determine if the melanoma has spread beyond the skin to the lymph nodes or other organs. If it has, they will create a treatment plan and continually follow up to monitor its effectiveness.

Benjamin Izar, MD

 

Shaheer A. Khan, DO

 

Other Specialists We Work With

  • Dermatopathologist: A dermatopathologist is a doctor who specializes in the study of skin diseases at a microscopic level. They can confirm the diagnosis of a dermatologist by looking at a sample of skin that was taken during a biopsy. 
  • Radiation Oncologist: A radiation oncologist is a doctor who specializes in using radiation treatments to reduce and remove cancerous growths. They are responsible for examining the patient to determine the proper dose of radiation, and will work closely with the dosimetrist to create a plan to deliver the radiation safely and effectively.


If you have a question for our team or want to schedule an appointment, you can call us at (212) 305-0273.


What Is Melanoma?

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that originates in the cells that produce melanin, which gives skin its color. By most measures, melanoma is one of the most common forms of cancer. 

Learn more about:

There are many treatment options available for melanoma. Get the facts on:


Resources and More

Get information about who to contact, learn more about melanoma and its treatments, and read about the experiences of our past patients.

Contact Information

Reach out to us anytime to make an appointment, get a question answered, or to just hear about our program. We’re available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

  • Phone: (212) 305-0273
  • Primary Address: 161 Fort Washington Avenue, New York, NY 10032

To request an appointment, call us at the number above.

Planning & Preparing

Stories & Perspectives

  • Stan Adler had more tumors than his doctors could count. He beat the odds with high-dose IL-2 therapy. Read Stan’s story »

More Resources

We recommend the following resources to continue learning about melanoma.


If you or your loved one is dealing with melanoma, we’re here to help. Call us at (212) 305-0273 to make an appointment.