Melanoma-associated antigens: Prospects for clinical use

Malignant melanomas, although less common than most malignancies, account for 1% of all cancers, and have been the subject of numerous new biological and clinical approaches reported in thousands of publications over the last 15 years. Their strong biological aggressiveness when they attain as little as 1.5 mm in thickness, and their persistent resistance to therapy when they spread - 80% failure to chemotherapy - make malignant melanomas one of the biggest challenges to therapy. A new approach could be the therapeutic use of the immunological reaction of the host. Attempts to demonstrate the existence of melanoma-associated antigens were made in the early seventies and were followed by specific immunotherapy trials, using vaccines prepared from melanoma cells. No definite evidence of melanoma immunogenicity was ever obtained. However, monoclonal antibodies definitely demonstrate the presence of melanoma-associated antigenic structures at the cell surface. In this commentary the following topics will be dealt with: antibodies to melanomas; melanoma antigens; and clinical applications of monoclonal antibodies.SCOPUS: ar.j