Dear Colleagues,

Cutaneous melanoma (CM) represents one of the most aggressive types of cancer because of its high metastatic power. Several environmental risk factors have been recognized in the development of CM, as well as different molecular mechanisms responsible for the malignant transformation of melanocytes. Notably, the alteration of the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signal transduction pathways are key mechanisms involved in the development of CM, but a growing body of evidence has demonstrated that epigenetic alterations and tumor microenvironment modifications may promote melanoma development and progression. These findings have led to the development of new targeted therapies that ameliorate the overall survival of melanoma patients; however, the mortality rate of CM still remains high due to the development of drug resistance mechanisms.

Therefore, the identification of the molecular mechanisms responsible for therapeutic failure is one of the main goals for the treatment of cutaneous melanomas. Furthermore, the study of epigenetic alterations and tumor microenvironment modifications in patients with melanoma could provide useful information to identify new therapeutic targets and find new early diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for CM.

On these bases, the focus of this Special Issue will be the evaluation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in melanoma development, progression, aggressiveness, and drug resistance in order to provide updated information about the current status of molecular, pharmaceutical, and translational scientific discoveries in the field of cutaneous melanoma.

Potential topics will include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Molecular alterations associated with cutaneous melanoma;
2. Molecular mechanisms and strategies to overcome drug resistance in cutaneous melanoma;
3. Tumor microenvironment and matrix metalloproteinases in cutaneous melanoma: roles and clinical implications;
4. Novel biomarkers for the early diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma;
5. Therapeutic strategies for cutaneous melanoma;
6. Natural compounds as novel therapeutic strategies;
7. Epigenetics modifications and cutaneous melanoma development and progression;
8. Environmental and occupational risk factors for cutaneous melanoma.

We look forward to your contributions.

Prof. Massimo Libra
Dr. Luca Falzone
Guest Editors

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• cutaneous melanoma
• immunotherapy
• targeted therapy
• drug resistance
• RAF and PI3K pathways