REVIEWS  CUTANEOUS MALIGNANCY UPDATE: MELANOMA IN 2007 

Giornale Italiano di Dermatologia e Venereologia 2007 April;142(2):161-70

Copyright © 2007 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Molecular targeted therapy of melanoma

Houben R., Ortmann S., Schrama D., Bröcker E. B., Becker J. C.

Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology Julius-Maximilians University, Würzburg, Germany

The increasing understanding of the molecular pathology of malignancies will have impact on future therapeutic approaches. Effective, non-toxic intervention in a broad range of cancers including melanoma may potentially be provided by targeted therapeutics which are tailored towards the molecular abnormalities that cause tumour progression. a) Constitutive activation of the Ras/MAPK- and PI3K/Akt-signal transduction pathways, b) epigenetic deregulation of gene expression due to drastic changes in DNA methylation and histone modification and c) loss of stability of tumour suppressor proteins have been demonstrated to be involved in melanomagenesis. Small molecular weight inhibitors interfering with these deregulated events, as well as the results of first clinical trials applying these substances are covered in this review.