The present invention provides non-invasive methods for detecting, monitoring, staging, and diagnosing malignant melanoma in a skin sample of a subject. The methods include analyzing expression in skin sample of one or more melanoma skin markers. The melanoma skin markers include IL-1 RI, endothelin-2, ephrin-A5, IGF Binding Protein 7, HLA-A0202 heavy chain, Activin A (.beta.A subunit), TNF RII, SPC4, and CNTF R.alpha.. The skin sample can include nucleic acids, and can be a human skin sample from a lesion suspected of being melanoma.