Melanoma summit in Wellington

Health professionals will gather in Wellington late this year with the aim of tackling the country's melanoma rate.

Inaugural Melanoma Summit organiser Iain Potter says November 14 is being billed as "the most important day under the sun" and will look at developing a collective understanding and future solutions to New Zealand's melanoma rates - rates that are among the highest in the world.

"This group of cancers is not as well understood as some," Mr Potter says. Several international experts will address the summit.