Advances in immune checkpoint
therapy and targeted
therapy have led to improvement in overall survival for patients with advanced
melanoma. Single agent checkpoint PD-1 blockade and combination with BRAF/
MEK targeted
therapy demonstrated benefit in overall survival (OS). Superior response rates have been demonstrated with combined PD-1/CTLA-4 blockade, with a significant OS benefit compared with single-agent PD-1 blockade. Despite the progress in diagnosis of melanocytic lesions, correct classification of patients, selection of appropriate adjuvant and systemic
therapies, and prediction of response to
therapy remain real challenges in
melanoma. Improved understanding of the tumor microenvironment,
tumor immunity and response to
therapy has prompted extensive translational and clinical research in
melanoma. Development of novel
biomarker platforms may help to improve diagnostics and predictive accuracy for selection of patients for specific treatment. There is a growing evidence that genomic and immune features of pre-treatment
tumor biopsies may correlate with response in patients with
melanoma and other
cancers but they have yet to be fully characterized and implemented clinically. Overall, the progress in
melanoma therapeutics and translational research will help to optimize treatment regimens to overcome resistance and develop robust
biomarkers to guide clinical decision-making. During the
Melanoma Bridge meeting (December 3rd-5th, 2020, Italy) we reviewed the currently approved systemic and local
therapies for advanced
melanoma and discussed novel
biomarker strategies and advances in
precision medicine.