melanoma

(MEH-luh-NOH-muh) A form of cancer that begins in melanocytes (cells that make the pigment melanin). It may begin in a mole (skin melanoma), but can also begin in other pigmented tissues, such as in the eye or in the intestines.

Cancer of the cells in the skin that produce melanin, a brown pigment. Melanoma often begins in a mole. See also cancer, cell