title: Targeted therapies in melanoma.
abstract: Advances in the biology of melanoma have provided insights about chemoresistance and its genetic heterogeneity in parallel with advances in drug design, culminating in recent major treatment breakthroughs. Although clinical benefit of targeted therapies has been unquestionable, future advances are only possible if we understand the interplay between genetic aberrations and role of other crucial nongenetic changes yet to be identified by such projects as the Cancer Genome Atlas Project in Melanoma. Combination therapies, either among small molecule inhibitors themselves and/or with immunotherapies, may be the optimal strategy to prevent development of drug resistance inherently linked with such targeted therapies.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Physicians Office Building, Suite 3116-CB#7305, 170 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Electronic address: moschos@med.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Stergios J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Moschos
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, East Carolina University, 600 Moye Boulevard, Brody 3E127, Greenville, NC 27834, USA.
authors.forename: Ramya
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pinnamaneni
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics*; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D009154:Mutation; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics*
keywords: BRAF inhibitors; Immunotherapies; Melanoma; Next generation sequencing; Ocular melanoma