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Cancers
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Research on New Drugs and Drug Targets in Melanoma
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Research on New Drugs and Drug Targets in Melanoma

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Drug Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 August 2025) | Viewed by 1866

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Paula Wróblewska Łuczka

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Occupational Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, ul. Jaczewskiego 8b, 20-090 Lublin, Poland
Interests: melanoma; in vitro tests; isobolographic analysis; natural substances; pharmacodynamic interactions
Dr. Nicolas Dumaz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institut de Recherche Saint Louis (IRSL), Université de Paris, F-75010 Paris, France
Interests: melanoma; signal transduction; targeted therapies; drug resistance; MAPK; PI3K; cAMP
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The incidence of melanoma is steadily increasing worldwide. Malignant melanomas are dangerous skin cancers, and their treatment with various cytostatics often causes side effects; moreover, their prolonged use can lead to drug resistance. Surgical excision is the main method of treatment, and in the case of metastasis or resistance, other methods of treatment are available. Understanding the mechanisms and cellular pathways of melanoma allows for the development of more effective therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, targeted therapies based on signaling pathways, intrafocal therapy (for unremovable melanomas) and local therapy (for single melanomas). The treatment of metastatic or drug-resistant melanoma still represents a significant therapeutic challenge. In recent years, new drugs have been introduced to treat melanoma, but scientists are still looking for new treatment options to improve therapeutic outcomes and increase patient survival.
The purpose of this Special Issue is to present new drugs or substances with potential against melanoma. Additionally, we are interested in drug targets and their mechanisms of action on many levels, including molecular and cellular.

Dr. Paula Wróblewska Łuczka
Dr. Nicolas Dumaz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • melanoma
  • new drugs
  • drug targets
  • mechanism of action
  • substances with anti-melanoma potential

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 1747 KiB  
Article
Rasagiline Inhibits Human Melanoma Cell Viability and Interacts Synergistically with Mitoxantrone and Antagonistically with Cisplatin—In Vitro Isobolographic Studies
by Danuta Krasowska, Paula Wróblewska-Łuczka, Michał Chojnacki, Katarzyna Załuska-Ogryzek, Jacek Kurzepa and Jarogniew J. Łuszczki
Cancers 2025, 17(15), 2563; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17152563 - 3 Aug 2025
Viewed by 439
Abstract
Background: The increased incidence of malignant melanoma is observed in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Methods: The anti-proliferative effects of carbidopa and rasagiline on four human malignant melanoma cell lines (A375, SK-MEL28, FM55P and FM55M2) were determined in MTT assay. The interaction profiles of [...] Read more.
Background: The increased incidence of malignant melanoma is observed in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Methods: The anti-proliferative effects of carbidopa and rasagiline on four human malignant melanoma cell lines (A375, SK-MEL28, FM55P and FM55M2) were determined in MTT assay. The interaction profiles of rasagiline in combinations with cisplatin (CDDP) and mitoxantrone (MTX) in four human melanoma cell lines (A375, SK-MEL28, FM55P and FM55M2) were assessed by means of the isobolographic analysis in the MTT test; Results: Rasagiline, but not carbidopa, produced clear-cut anti-proliferative effects on various melanoma cell lines. The median inhibitory concentrations (IC50 values) of rasagiline in the MTT were 280.69 µM for A375, 402.89 µM for SK-MEL28, 349.44 µM for FM55P, and 117.45 µM for FM55M2, respectively. The experimentally-derived selectivity index for rasagiline ranged from 8.22 to 28.18. Flow cytometry assay revealed, in two melanoma cell lines (FM55P and A375), a significant increase in the number of cells in the G0/G1 (up to 76.48% and 75.46% for cell lines, respectively), accompanied by a decrease in the percentage of cells in the S phase (decrease to 9.91% and 10.83% for cell lines, respectively), which may indicate potential cytostatic properties of rasagiline. The combinations of rasagiline with CDDP (at the fixed-ratio of 1:1) exerted either antagonistic interactions (p < 0.05) in the A375 and SK-MEL28, or additive interactions, with a tendency toward antagonism in the FM55P and FM55M2 cell lines in the MTT test. In contrast, the combinations of rasagiline with MTX (ratio of 1:1) produced either synergistic interaction (p < 0.05) in the FM55P cell line or additive interactions with a tendency toward synergy in the FM55M2, SK-MEL28, and A375 cell lines in the MTT test. Conclusions: Rasagiline combined with MTX exerted the most desirable synergistic interactions in relation to the anti-proliferative effects in four malignant melanoma cell lines, as assessed isobolographically. In contrast, rasagiline should not be combined with CDDP during the treatment of malignant melanoma due to the antagonistic interactions in the MTT assay. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on New Drugs and Drug Targets in Melanoma)
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21 pages, 369 KiB  
Review
Novel Biological Strategies for Melanoma Therapy: A Focus on lncRNAs and Their Targeting
by Francesca Maria Orlandella, Rosaria Arcone, Neila Luciano, Giuliana Salvatore and Maria Letizia Motti
Cancers 2025, 17(8), 1273; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17081273 - 9 Apr 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 883
Abstract
Increasing evidence revealed that restoring the correct expression of lncRNAs could have implications in the management of melanoma patients. In this context, here, we aim to dissect the main characteristics of lncRNAs altered in melanoma and their crosstalk with the signaling pathways involved [...] Read more.
Increasing evidence revealed that restoring the correct expression of lncRNAs could have implications in the management of melanoma patients. In this context, here, we aim to dissect the main characteristics of lncRNAs altered in melanoma and their crosstalk with the signaling pathways involved in the progression of this disease. We also highlight the role of nucleic acid-based techniques and natural compounds (i.e., phytochemicals) as a therapeutic tool to increase or silence their expression in cancer cells. Finally, we explore the advances in nanotechnologies as delivery systems to efficiently carry these chemicals into cancer cells, thus limiting their potential off-target effects. The analysis of the literature showed that HOTAIR, MALAT1, and H19 are the oncogenic lncRNAs most studied in melanoma, while MEG3 is an important tumor suppressor decreased in this cancer. The aberrant expression of these lncRNAs affects several hallmarks of cancer, e.g., proliferation, motility, and epithelial to mesenchymal transition, promoting the melanoma plasticity and drug resistance. In this frame, siRNA, antisense oligonucleotide, and CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing appear to be the most effective nucleic acid strategies to restore the physiologic expression of lncRNA, while curcumin, resveratrol, and quercetin are the main phytochemicals able to target and influence the expression of lncRNAs altered in cancer. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive overview regarding the role of lncRNAs in the phenotype plasticity of melanoma cells and their potential targeting using RNA-based therapy and natural products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on New Drugs and Drug Targets in Melanoma)
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