New horizons in melanoma treatment: targeting molecular pathways.
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer. Over the past several decades, the incidence of melanoma has been increasing rapidly, especially in the southern and western United States (the so-called Sun Belt) and in subtropical countries such as Australia settled by fair-skinned peoples.1 In 2009, it was estimated that 60,000 patients would be diagnosed as having melanoma and 7,000 would die of this disease in the United States.2 Melanoma arises from transformed melanocytes, long-lived pigment-producing cells that reside within the basal epidermis. Melanocyte progenitors arise from the neural crest and migrate into the basal epidermis during embryonic development guided by c-KIT/stem cell factor signaling. Over the past few years, significant advances in our understanding of melanocyte biology and the role of protein kinases in melanoma have given rise to a wealth of therapeutic targets that are now in preclinical or clinical evaluation. These targets are different from the more traditional immunologic manipulations and cytotoxic chemotherapy that have been used to treat melanoma over the past 4 decades.3
Source: PubMed Central
Authors: Christopher W M Soon, Alain P Algazi, Edward N Cha, Adil I Daud
Institution: University of California, San Francisco
Language: English
Topic: Melanoma and MAPK Pathways
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1921279305