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Introduction: Over the past decade, significant advancements in the field of melanoma have included the introduction of a new staging system and the development of immunotherapy and targeted therapies, leading to changes in substage classification and impacting patient prognosis. Despite these strides, early detection remains paramount. The quest for dependable prognostic biomarkers is ongoing, given melanoma's unpredictable nature, especially in identifying patients at risk of relapse. Reliable biomarkers are critical for informed treatment decisions., Areas Covered: This review offers a comprehensive review of prognostic biomarkers in the context of clinical trials for immunotherapy and targeted therapy. It explores different clinical scenarios, including adjuvant, metastatic, and neo-adjuvant settings. Key findings suggest that tumor mutational burden, PD-L1 expression, IFN-γ signature, and immune-related factors are promising biomarkers associated with improved treatment responses., Expert Opinion: Identifying practical prognostic factors for melanoma therapy is challenging due to the tumor's heterogeneity. Promising biomarkers include tumor mutational burden (TMB), circulating tumor DNA, and those characterizing the tumor microenvironment, especially the immune component. Future research should prioritize large-scale, prospective studies to validate and standardize these biomarkers, emphasizing clinical relevance and real-world applicability. Easily accessible biomarkers have the potential to enhance the precision and effectiveness of melanoma management.

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a mesenchymal neoplasm that was originally described to be localized in the pleura, but thereafter, this has been reported in several anatomic sites. Although the etiology of the neoplasm remains largely unknown, the pathogenesis seems to be related to an NAB2-STAT6 fusion gene due to paracentric inversion on chromosome 12q13. The diagnosis of extrapleural SFT is challenging, owing to its rarity, and requires an integrated approach that includes specific clinical, histological, immunohistochemical, and even molecular findings. Histologically, extrapleural SFT shares morphological features same as those of the pleural SFT because it is characterized by a patternless distribution of both oval- and spindle-shaped cells in a variable collagen stroma. In addition, morphological variants of mixoid, fat-forming, and giant cell-rich tumors are described. A correct diagnosis is mandatory for a proper therapy and management of the patients with extrapleural SFT, as extrapleural SFT is usually more aggressive than pleural form, particularly cases occurring in the mediastinum, retroperitoneum, pelvis, and meninges. Although SFT is usually considered as a clinically indolent neoplasm, the prognosis is substantially unpredictable and only partially related to morphological features. In this context, cellularity, neoplastic borders, cellular atypias, and mitotic activity can show a wide range of variability. We review extrapleural SFT by discussing diagnostic clues, differential diagnosis, recent molecular findings, and prognostic factors., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)