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Theme: Skin Cancer - Review

Therapy for metastatic melanoma: an overview and update

Pages 725-737 | Published online: 10 Jan 2014
 

Abstract

Malignant melanoma, a tumor arising from the transformation of melanocytes, has been increasing in incidence worldwide for the past three decades. Melanoma that has metastasized is usually highly resistant to standard chemotherapy. The standard of care for patients with metastatic melanoma has not changed significantly in the past 20 years, and new strategies for treatment of metastatic melanoma are urgently needed. Significant insights have recently been gained into the molecular events underpinning the development of melanoma. A number of novel compounds designed to target these molecular events, as well as monoclonal antibodies to key immune regulatory functions, have been developed and used in clinical trials. The results of these trials hold great promise for the treatment of subsets of patients with metastatic melanoma.

Acknowledgements

Glen M Boyle would like to thank Susan Woods for critical reading of the manuscript.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Glen M Boyle has acted in the past as a consultant for EcoBiotics Ltd, Australia. The author has no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

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