title: Contemporary and potential future molecular diagnosis of melanoma.
abstract: The increasing incidence of cutaneous melanoma and the still limited effective treatments available for this disease represent a major health problem and a great challenge for research. The raise of the "omics" era and the development of new techniques to explore phenotypic heterogeneity are helping to decipher the mechanisms at the basis of melanoma heterogeneity.
  
  
  
  We reviewed the most recent publications about the biology of cutaneous melanoma, to provide an overview of the most recent insights into the complexity of this tumor and their potential impact in the clinical settings. Expert commentary: Starting from the first attempts to provide a molecular classification of melanoma, it has been evident that this tumor represents a widely heterogeneous disease. This complexity and the multivariate nature of melanoma represent a major obstacle in developing the best management strategies for patients.
authors.affiliation: a Laboratory of Translational Research , Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova-IRCCS , Reggio Emilia , Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gandolfi
authors.affiliation: a Laboratory of Translational Research , Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova-IRCCS , Reggio Emilia , Italy.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dallaglio
authors.affiliation: b Skin Cancer Unit , Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova-IRCCS , Reggio Emilia , Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.affiliation: b Skin Cancer Unit , Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova-IRCCS , Reggio Emilia , Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moscarella
authors.affiliation: b Skin Cancer Unit , Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova-IRCCS , Reggio Emilia , Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lallas
authors.affiliation: c Surgery and Emergency Unit , Second University of Naples , Naples , Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alfano
authors.affiliation: b Skin Cancer Unit , Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova-IRCCS , Reggio Emilia , Italy.|d Dermatology Unit , Second University of Naples , Naples , Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Argenziano
authors.affiliation: a Laboratory of Translational Research , Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova-IRCCS , Reggio Emilia , Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ciarrocchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Cutaneous melanoma; cellular heterogeneity; genetic heterogeneity; molecular diagnosis; next generation sequencing