Beyond Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: Emerging Targets in Melanoma Therapy.

Purpose Of Review: This review provides a comprehensive update on recent advancements in melanoma treatment by highlighting promising therapeutics with an aim to increase awareness of novel interventions currently in development.

Recent Findings: Over the last decade there has been considerable expansion of the previously available treatment options for patients with melanoma. In particular, novel immunotherapeutics have been developed to expand on the clinical advancements brought by BRAF targeting and immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Rapidly Evolving Pre- and Post-surgical Systemic Treatment of Melanoma.

With the development of effective BRAF-targeted and immune-checkpoint immunotherapies for metastatic melanoma, clinical trials are moving these treatments into earlier adjuvant and perioperative settings. BRAF-targeted therapy is a standard of care in resected stage III-IV melanoma, while anti-programmed death-1 (PD1) immunotherapy is now a standard of care option in resected stage IIB through IV disease. With both modalities, recurrence-free survival and distant-metastasis-free survival are improved by a relative 35-50%, yet no improvement in overall survival has been demonstrated.