Advances in targeted therapy for unresectable melanoma: new drugs and combinations

Cancer Lett. 2015 Apr 1;359(1):1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.canlet.2014.12.050. Epub 2015 Jan 8.

Abstract

Melanoma is the most deadly cutaneous cancer primarily derived from melanocytes with a poor prognosis in advanced stage. The therapy regimen for early stage melanoma patients is surgical resection with adjuvant IFN-alpha-2b therapy. For metastatic lesions, standard chemotherapy such as dacarbazine (DTIC) has not achieved a satisfying response rate. Therefore, new approaches to manage this deadly disease are highly expected to enhance the cure rate and to extend clinical benefits to patients with unresectable melanoma. Fortunately, the targeted therapeutic drugs and immunotherapy such as vemurafenib, dabrafenib, ipilimumab, and trametinib have shown their special advantage in the treatment of advanced melanoma. This article is to overview the advances in targeted therapy for unresectable melanoma patients.

Keywords: BRAF; CTLA-4; MEK; PD-1/L1; PI3K/Akt/mTOR; c-KIT.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Animals
  • Antibodies / therapeutic use
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Drug Design*
  • Humans
  • Melanoma / drug therapy*
  • Melanoma / enzymology
  • Melanoma / genetics
  • Melanoma / pathology
  • Molecular Targeted Therapy / trends*
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / therapeutic use
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects*
  • Skin Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Skin Neoplasms / enzymology
  • Skin Neoplasms / genetics
  • Skin Neoplasms / pathology
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Angiogenesis Inhibitors
  • Antibodies
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors