The Marie Curie Research Institute study can be read in Genes and Development.
The researchers said the latest discovery can pave the way for new treatments to stop cancer.
Melanoma is a cancer of the melanocytes, the pigment cells connected to skin color.
The cancer is deemed harder to treat because it can spread to other parts of the body.
Led by Dr. Colin Goding,the Marie Curie research team, say they have discovered one of the reasons why melanoma can effectively spread around the body.
He said that under certain conditions, cancer cells can shift shape and stop dividing thus looking like a normal skin pigment cell.
Dr. Goding said: "These invasive cancer cells develop in response to conditions inside the tumor."
"Once they have spread into other areas of the body, their new environment determines whether they remain dormant, or whether they start dividing again to form new tumors."
