title: Temozolomide for Treating Malignant Melanoma.
abstract: Melanoma is one of the most malignant forms of skin cancer; with a rapidly increasing prevalence. Early-stage melanoma is curable, but advanced metastatic melanoma is almost always fatal, and patients with such advanced disease have short median survival. Surgery and radiotherapy play a limited role in the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Rather, chemotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment, although other approaches, including biotherapy and gene therapy, have been attempted. The authors hereby, evaluated the use of temozolomide (TMZ) for treating metastatic melanoma compared to dacarbazine (DTIC), the effectiveness of TMZ for treating brain metastases, as well as TMZ resistance and how the efficacy of TMZ in malignant melanoma can be increased. Two chemotherapeutic regimens are commonly used for palliative treatment of malignant melanoma: intravenous administration of DTIC and oral administration of the alkylating agent temozolomide (TMZ). Compared to DTIC, TMZ is very well tolerated and has an advantage in terms of improving the quality of life of patients with metastatic melanoma. While the prognosis is currently unpromising, chemotherapy plays a palliative role for patients with metastatic melanoma. The toxicity of treatment regimens based on DTIC and TMZ do not differ significantly, although TMZ is costlier. These findings provide a reference for future researchers via a comprehensive analysis of the relevant literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou-221002, China.
authors.forename: Rong-Hua
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou-221002, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Yang
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Huai'an Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College, Huai'an-223002, China.
authors.forename: Chun-Sheng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou-221002, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Lou
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou-221002, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Qin
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou-221002, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Qun
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical College, Xuzhou-221002, China.
authors.forename: Guan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D018906:Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary*; D003606:Dacarbazine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D000077204:Temozolomide; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000096142:Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma
chemical_list: D018906:Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating; D003606:Dacarbazine; D000077204:Temozolomide