Systemic therapy of malignant melanoma.

To date, the therapeutic challenge of improving the poor prognosis of malignant melanoma has not been met by adjuvant therapy for disseminated disease. But the tedious determination of ineffective therapy has closed some lines of research and opened others. Disseminated melanoma is a fertile field for application of new drugs and phase II studies. An effective drug for advanced disease is the key to defining adjuvant therapy. In the next years, clinical application of antimelanoma monoclonal antibodies will be feasible to determine efficacy. Viral oncolysate, a new and promising agent, will also be studied in prospective randomized trials. Continuing research to define an effective systemic therapy for malignant melanoma is warranted.