Publikationsrepositorium - Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf

Melanoma is the most malignant type of all skin neoplasms. Although current clinical, morphologic, pathologic, and biochemical methods provide insights into disease behavior and outcome, melanoma is still an unpredictable disease. Once in an advanced stage, it remains a fatal neoplasm with scarce therapeutic options. Therefore, significant efforts still need to be made in finding suitable biomarkers that could aid or improve its early diagnosis, its correct staging, the discrimination of other pathological conditions as well as indicate patients’ prognosis or the most appropriate therapeutic regimes. On the other hand, well-defined diagnostic markers are necessary to avoid the apparent overdiagnosis of melanoma.