Cerebral metastases from malignant melanoma: Current treatment strategies, advances in novel therapeutics and future directions

Abstract

Of all primary cancers in humans, melanoma has the highest propensity to metastasize to the brain. The prognosis of patients with this disease is extremely poor. Due to its radioresistance and poor response to existing chemotherapeutic regimes, no treatment options other than surgical extirpation, when feasible, have been shown to be effective. An understanding of the underlying tumor biology therefore remains the cornerstone of offering new hope in the treatment. In this review, we comment on the current treatment strategies for melanoma brain metastases and summarize some recent experimental findings from our laboratory with potential for the development of target specific antitumor therapies. © 2010 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland.