title: Immunotargeting of tumor subpopulations in melanoma patients: A paradigm shift in therapy approaches.
abstract: Several melanoma cell subpopulations with tumor-initiating and/or tumor-maintaining properties exist that may contribute to chemoresistance and tumor recurrence after standard therapies. One of these subpopulations expresses a B-cell marker, CD20. In a small pilot trial, we showed that a subset of Stage IV melanoma patients may potentially benefit from an adjuvant treatment using the anti-CD20 antibody rituximab.
authors.affiliation: Division of Immunology, Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Department of Dermatology; Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maurer
authors.forename: Rajasekharan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Somasundaram
authors.forename: Meenhard
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herlyn
authors.forename: Stephan N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Wagner