Présentation et implications cliniques des marqueurs sériques dans le mélanome malin cutané.

With the emergence of new targeted therapies against cancer and the increasing number of treatment options, the challenge for the clinician is to assess the risk/benefit ratio of a choice and prognosis for each patient. Interest in serum biomarkers of melanoma progression fits into this framework. In fact, many serum biomarkers were assessed in melanoma, but their clinical significance remains a matter of debate. In this article, a review of these serum biomarkers of melanoma is detailed and discussed in terms of their practical utility. The low sensitivity and reduced specificity of these markers are serious limitations to their routine use in the early stages (AJCC stage I and II). However, in the later stages (AJCC stage III and IV), the use of some of them can help to follow the patient carefully since elevated serum levels are shown to precede a recurrence. None of them can set a personalized therapeutic strategy. Microarray technology and proteomics research will surely bring new candidates in the near future for a more precise definition of individual prognosis and prediction of treatment outcome, and identify patients who could benefit from a new adjuvant therapeutic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]