Personalized cancer therapies offer new opportunities for treating malignant melanoma (black skin cancer) through early detection, monitoring of the disease progression, and personalized recommendations for medications and immunotherapies that are based on the individual characteristics of the tumor.
Not all melanomas are the same, which is why modern skin cancer treatment is increasingly based on genetic analyses. In about half of all patients with melanoma, a so-called BRAF V600 mutation can be detected using a blood test. This alteration in the BRAF gene leads to a specific signaling pathway remaining permanently active, allowing the cancer cells to continue to grow uncontrollably. This is precisely where targeted therapies come into play.
A tissue examination can determine whether this mutation is present. If so, medications such as BRAF inhibitors and MEK inhibitors are used. They specifically block the faulty signaling pathway, thereby stopping or slowing tumor growth.
Even in rare cases such as c-KIT mutations, individually tailored therapy can help when immunotherapies fail. Crucially, only those who know the tumor’s genetic characteristics can choose the appropriate, personalized therapy.
In addition to targeted therapy, targeted immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors can also be used to treat skin cancer. Melanoma cells often evade the body's immune system by manipulating so-called immune checkpoints such as PD-1 or CTLA-4. Checkpoint inhibitors reverse these unwanted changes and reactivate the immune system's T cells. Particularly in advanced stages, this therapy can reduce the risk of relapse and significantly extend survival time.
T-cells can also be reactivated through adoptive T-cell therapy. In this form of immunotherapy, T-cells are taken from the patient's body, genetically modified in the laboratory to specifically target cancer cells, and then injected back into the body.
