Germline determinants of clinical outcome of cutaneous melanoma.

ABSTRACT: Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is the most lethal form of skin cancer. Despite the constant increase in melanoma incidence, which is in part due to incremental advances in early diagnostic modalities, mortality rates have not improved over the last decade and for advanced stages remain steadily high. While conventional prognostic biomarkers currently in use find significant utility for predicting overall general survival probabilities, they are not sensitive enough for a more personalized clinical assessment on an individual level. In recent years, the advent of genomic technologies has brought the promise of identification of germline DNA alterations that may associate with CM outcomes and hence represent novel biomarkers for clinical utilization. This review attempts to summarize the current st

SUBMITTER: Vogelsang M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5024571 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature