Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most frequent primary ocular cancer in adults, accounting for 5% of all melanomas. Despite effective treatments for the primary tumour, up to 50% of UM patients will develop metastasis, leading to a very poor prognosis and a median overall survival of 6 to 12 months, with no major improvements in the last 30 years. There is no standard oncological treatment available for metastatic UM patients, and BRAF/MEK and immune checkpoint inhibitors show disappointing results when compared to cutaneous melanoma (CM). Recent advances in biology, however, identified specific gene and chromosome alterations, potentially permitting an actively tailored surveillance strategy, and dedicated clinical studies. Being a rare cancer, UM patients have to overcome issues such as identifying referral centres, having access to information, and partnering with oncologists for specific management strategies and research priorities. Here, we describe how the EUropean Rare Adult solid CAacer Network (EURACAN) will help in addressing these challenges and accelerating international collaborations to enhance the development of innovative treatments in UM.

Piperno-Neumann, S., Piulats, J.M., Goebeler, M., Galloway, I., Lugowska, I., Becker, J.C., et al. (2019). Uveal Melanoma: A European Network to Face the Many Challenges of a Rare Cancer. CANCERS, 11(6), 1-10 [10.3390/cancers11060817].

Uveal Melanoma: A European Network to Face the Many Challenges of a Rare Cancer

Hadjistilianou, Theodora;
2019-01-01

Abstract

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most frequent primary ocular cancer in adults, accounting for 5% of all melanomas. Despite effective treatments for the primary tumour, up to 50% of UM patients will develop metastasis, leading to a very poor prognosis and a median overall survival of 6 to 12 months, with no major improvements in the last 30 years. There is no standard oncological treatment available for metastatic UM patients, and BRAF/MEK and immune checkpoint inhibitors show disappointing results when compared to cutaneous melanoma (CM). Recent advances in biology, however, identified specific gene and chromosome alterations, potentially permitting an actively tailored surveillance strategy, and dedicated clinical studies. Being a rare cancer, UM patients have to overcome issues such as identifying referral centres, having access to information, and partnering with oncologists for specific management strategies and research priorities. Here, we describe how the EUropean Rare Adult solid CAacer Network (EURACAN) will help in addressing these challenges and accelerating international collaborations to enhance the development of innovative treatments in UM.
2019
Piperno-Neumann, S., Piulats, J.M., Goebeler, M., Galloway, I., Lugowska, I., Becker, J.C., et al. (2019). Uveal Melanoma: A European Network to Face the Many Challenges of a Rare Cancer. CANCERS, 11(6), 1-10 [10.3390/cancers11060817].
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Uveal-Melanoma-European-Network-2019.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: PDF editoriale
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 561.02 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
561.02 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11365/1074279