Current Research and Scholarly Interests
Dr. Susan Swetter has directed the Pigmented Lesion and Melanoma Programs at Stanford University Medical Center and Cancer Institute and VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS) since 1995. She has also served as Physician Leader of the Cancer Care Program in Cutaneous Oncology at Stanford Medicine Cancer Center since 2012. Dr. Swetter’s research focuses on precision public health as it relates to primary and secondary prevention strategies in melanoma. In 2020, she founded and is leading the Wipe Out Melanoma - California (WOM-CA) statewide initiative targeting high-risk populations for early detection through community engagement and novel technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Dr. Swetter has published nearly 300 scholarly articles, reviews, and textbook chapters. She has served for nearly two decades on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Melanoma Panel and American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Melanoma Work Group to establish clinical practice guidelines for melanoma in the US. She chaired the most recent (2019) AAD melanoma guidelines update and continues to serve on the AAD Work Group to update the guidelines. Dr. Swetter was appointed Chair of the NCCN Melanoma Panel in 2020 and is the first dermatologist to hold this position. In 2026, she was appointed to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) V9 Melanoma of the Skin Expert Panel.
Dr. Swetter serves as the dermatologist liaison to the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG-ACRIN) Melanoma Committee and is Co-Chair of the national Melanoma Prevention Working Group - a national research collaboration among academic dermatologists, pathologists, oncologists, surgeons, and epidemiologists who are dedicated to melanoma control, including screening and therapeutic prevention - comprised of Intergroup/NCTN (ECOG, SWOG, CALGB) melanoma centers in the US.
Dr. Swetter's research interests include clinical and translational studies of melanoma epidemiology, prognostic factors, screening and therapeutic prevention (formerly termed chemoprevention) in high-risk groups. She is the Stanford Principal Investigator (PI) for the NCI/University of Arizona Early Phase Cancer Chemoprevention Consortium for skin cancer research and co-led one of the first randomized trials of therapeutic prevention for melanoma in individuals with atypical nevi. She also served as VAPAHCS PI for the VA Cooperative Studies Program Keratinocyte Chemoprevention Trial, aimed at prevention of nonmelanoma skin cancer in high risk patients.
Dr. Swetter co-led (through 2021) the Stanford University Network for Sun Protection, Outreach, and Teamwork (SUNSPORT) program to improve primary skin cancer prevention in college athletes. Her Wipe Out Melanoma - California research aims to reduce the incidence of lethal melanomas and health disparities across the state, through improved early detection in high-risk populations, including those with rural geography, lower socioeconomic class, and/or skin of color. Dr. Swetter established a statewide coalition of academic and health system partners to assist in this effort, leveraging novel skin imaging technologies, teledermatology, and artificial intelligence for improved community outreach and engagement. Dr. Swetter is also involved in clinical trials for advanced melanoma patients at the Stanford Medicine Cancer Center, where she now co-directs the Pigmented Lesion/Melanoma and Cutaneous Oncology Programs.
