Cutaneous melanoma: From pathogenesis to therapy (Review)

Abstract

In less than 10 years, melanoma treatment has beenrevolutionized with the approval of tyrosine kinase inhibitorsand immune checkpoint inhibitors, which have been shownto have a significant impact on the prognosis of patients withmelanoma. The early steps of this transformation have takenplace in research laboratories. The mitogen-activated proteinkinase (MAPK) pathway, phosphoinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)pathway promote the development of melanoma throughnumerous genomic alterations on different components of thesepathways. Moreover, melanoma cells deeply interact with thetumor microenvironment and the immune system. This knowledge has led to the identification of novel therapeutic targets andtreatment strategies. In this review, the epidemiological featuresof cutaneous melanoma along with the biological mechanismsinvolved in its development and progression are summarized.The current state-of-the-art of advanced stage melanoma treatment strategies and the currently available evidence of the use ofpredictive and prognostic biomarkers are also discussed