Adjuvant Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Resected Desmoplastic Melanoma

Inclusion Criteria

* Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) 0, 1, or 2
* Pathologically proven DM \>= 1 mm in depth or locally recurrent DM; recurrent tumor is defined as a tumor found =\< 2 cm from the previous excision or within the surgical bed (which includes the extent of previous skin flaps)
* DM resected with pathologically negative margins; acceptable surgery includes standard wide local excision and Moh's surgery

  * Tumors on the trunk proximal extremities need to have a \>= 2 cm negative margin; tumors located on the head and neck and distal extremities will have an attempt at 2 cm negative margins but due to location and subsequent concern regarding cosmesis a margin \< 2 cm will be acceptable if margin is negative
  * Margins from tumors resected using the Moh's technique will be accepted if negative and best approximation of tumor width will be made
* Radiation therapy (RT) is to begin =\< 8 weeks after definitive surgical resection
* Adjuvant systemic therapy (immunotherapy or chemotherapy) must be postponed until irradiation is completed

Exclusion Criteria

* Previous irradiation to the same site
* Non-healing surgical wound
* Active infection at the surgical site
* Evidence of metastatic disease; local nodal disease is still eligible for the trial
* Life expectancy \< 1 year
* Melanoma with focally desmoplastic features, in which the desmoplastic melanoma is not the predominant histologic pattern of the tumor, will be excluded; non-desmoplastic neurotropic melanoma and non-desmoplastic spindle cell melanoma are also excluded
* Previous malignancy \< 5 years excluding basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin or cervical carcinoma in situ (with the exception of patients who have stage I breast cancer who were adequately treated with adjuvant therapy and are currently disease free, and patients with stage I or II prostate cancer treated with prostatectomy or radiotherapy and are biochemically free of disease \[for radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP) prostate-specific antigen (PSA) \< 0.3 and for radiotherapy PSA \< 2.0 above the post treatment nadir\])
* Any of the following:

  * Pregnant women
  * Women of childbearing potential who are unwilling to employ adequate contraception (condoms, diaphragm, birth control pills, injections, intrauterine device \[IUD\], surgical sterilization, abstinence, etc.)