Advances in Melanoma and Skin Cancers

Dear Colleagues,

Malignant melanoma is the most aggressive skin cancer, with a high potential for relapse and metastasization. Treatment with classic chemotherapy drugs has a response rate of 10% and short survival. The availability of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) has radically changed the prognosis not only in melanoma but also in the majority of skin cancers. Indeed, immunotherapy is currently considered the standard of care as adjuvant therapy in high-risk resected stage III or IV melanoma, and it is also demonstrating excellent results in other skin cancers. Despite these important advances, a large subgroup of patients does not respond to treatment, or relapse due to the onset of primary or acquired resistance, resulting in treatment failure in approximately 50% of patients. Therefore, it is necessary to identify specific biomarkers capable of predicting the clinical benefit of immunotherapy in melanoma and skin cancer patients.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to report the resistance mechanisms and prognostic/predictive molecular markers of immunotherapy treatment in patients with skin cancers. Original research, reviews, and short communication articles mainly focused on the molecular basis of and advances in skin cancer immunotherapy are welcome.

Dr. Domenico Mallardo
Dr. Debora Basile
Dr. Maria Grazia Vitale
Guest Editors

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