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Review
. 2021 Jan-Dec:20:1534735421990078.
doi: 10.1177/1534735421990078.

Current Advancements and Novel Strategies in the Treatment of Metastatic Melanoma

Siddhartha Sood  1 , Rahul Jayachandiran  1 , Siyaram Pandey  1
Affiliations
Review

Current Advancements and Novel Strategies in the Treatment of Metastatic Melanoma

Siddhartha Sood et al. Integr Cancer Ther. 2021 Jan-Dec.

Abstract

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer in the world with a growing incidence in North America. Contemporary treatments for melanoma include surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. However, apart from resection in early melanoma, the prognosis of patients using these treatments is typically poor. In the past decade, there have been significant advancements in melanoma therapies. Immunotherapies such as ipilimumab and targeted therapies such as vemurafenib have emerged as a promising option for patients as seen in both scientific and clinical research. Furthermore, combination therapies are starting to be administered in the form of polychemotherapy, polyimmunotherapy, and biochemotherapy, of which some have shown promising outcomes in relative efficacy and safety due to their multiple targets. Alongside these treatments, new research has been conducted into the evidence-based use of natural health products (NHPs) and natural compounds (NCs) on melanoma which may provide a long-term and non-toxic form of complementary therapy. Nevertheless, there is a limited consolidation of the research conducted in emerging melanoma treatments which may be useful for researchers and clinicians. Thus, this review attempts to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of current advancements in metastatic melanoma treatment by surveying new research into the molecular and cellular basis of treatments along with their clinical efficacy. In addition, this review aims to elucidate novel strategies that are currently being used and have the potential to be used in the future.

Keywords: anti-cancer vaccine; biochemotherapy; chemotherapy; cytokines; immune checkpoint inhibitor; immunotherapy; melanoma; natural health products; oncolytic virus.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Summary of immunotherapy mechanism of action: (A) mechanism and immune targets of anti-CTLA-4 antibodies and anti-PD-1 antibodies and (B) mechanisms of cytokine drugs Aldesleukin and IFN-α2b.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Molecular pathway and targets of BRAF/MEK inhibitors.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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