Molecular Biology of Melanoma 2.0
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Oncology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 15168
Special Issue Editor
Interests: human malignant melanoma; metastatic progression; genomic alterations; gene expression alterations; chromosome copy number alterations; array CGH; FISH
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Cutaneous melanoma is one of the most invasive and metastatic human cancers, and accounts for the majority of skin cancer deaths despite comprising less than 5% of all cutaneous malignancies [1]. Although local excision for early-stage primary melanoma offers the best chance of cure, recent advances in molecular genetics and genomics have revolutionized the management and treatment of late-stage and metastatic melanomas, leading to significant improvements in clinical outcomes [2]. Approximately 40%–50% of melanomas harbour an activating mutation in the BRAF oncogene, which constitutively activates the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. The targeted inhibition of the mutant BRAF gene is one of the most promising therapeutic approaches for patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. BRAF inhibitors have high response rates amongst patients with advantaged state melanomas. Unfortunately, despite the 6–8 month median progression-free survival, most patients develop resistance and experience tumour re-growth. However, the recent successes of single-agent and combination therapies are promising; improving the currently existing classification schemes of patients for the appropriate treatment as well as understanding the mechanism of therapeutic resistance are still crucial goals. Chemoresistance as well as a high metastatic potential are supposed to be in association with the fact that melanocytes are derived from highly motile neural crest precursors [3]. Different invasion strategies can be used by melanoma cells, depending on varying environmental effects, to invade the surrounding and distant tissues. While new agents are already used to successfully treat malignant melanomas, a more personalized approach incorporating genomic, proteomic, and immunologic data are needed for successful therapeutic decisions [4].
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- Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2017 Mar;36(1):7-21.
- Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2017 Apr;18(5):487-495.
Prof. Dr. Balázs Margit
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- melanoma
- cutaneous
- genomic alterations
- invasion related molecular markers
- driver genes
- metastasis
- personalized therapies
- BRAF inhibitors
- immunotherapy
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