Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2012 Oct;29(7):775-96.
doi: 10.1007/s10585-012-9521-1. Epub 2012 Aug 15.

Progression of cutaneous melanoma: implications for treatment

Affiliations
Review

Progression of cutaneous melanoma: implications for treatment

Stanley P L Leong et al. Clin Exp Metastasis. 2012 Oct.

Erratum in

  • Clin Exp Metastasis. 2012 Oct;29(7):797-9

Abstract

The survival rates of melanoma, like any type of cancer, become worse with advancing stage. Spectrum theory is most consistent with the progression of melanoma from the primary site to the in-transit locations, regional or sentinel lymph nodes and beyond to the distant sites. Therefore, early diagnosis and surgical treatment before its spread is the most effective treatment. Recently, new approaches have revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma. Genomic profiling and sequencing will form the basis for molecular taxonomy for more accurate subgrouping of melanoma patients in the future. New insights of molecular mechanisms of metastasis are summarized in this review article. Sentinel lymph node biopsy has become a standard of care for staging primary melanoma without the need for a more morbid complete regional lymph node dissection. With recent developments in molecular biology and genomics, novel molecular targeted therapy is being developed through clinical trials.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The survival rates of melanoma become worse with advancing stage. Therefore, early diagnosis and surgical treatment before its spread is the most effective treatment. Recently, new approaches have revolutionized the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma. Genomic profiling and sequencing will form the pillar for molecular taxonomy for more accurate subgrouping of patients. Sentinel lymph node biopsy has become a standard of care for staging primary melanoma. Medical revolution is on its way to develop molecular targeted therapy through clinical trials

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Murphy MJ. Diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in melanoma. Springer; New York: 2012.
    1. Becker D, Mihm MC, Hewitt SM, et al. Markers and tissue resources for melanoma: meeting report. Cancer Res. 2006;66:10652–10657. - PubMed
    1. Beecher C. The human metabolome. In: Harrigan G, Goodacre R, editors. Metabolic profilings: its role in biomarker discovery and gene function analysis. Kluwer Academic Publishers; Boston: 2003. pp. 311–319.
    1. Flaherty KT. BRAF inhibitors and melanoma. Cancer J. 2011;17:505–511. - PubMed
    1. Balch CM, Gershenwald JE, Soong SJ, et al. Final version of 2009 AJCC melanoma staging and classification. J Clin Oncol. 2009;27:6199–6206. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

Substances