An update on melanoma genomics

Linked Article:   Guhan et al. Br J Dermatol 2021; 185 :272–281. Melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer. Immune‐boosting therapies and targeted treatments have greatly improved survival for some but not all patients. Over the past 10 years genetic changes in melanomas have been recognized and are being used to classify melanomas and design targeted treatments. This American team from Harvard reviews the current state of knowledge. The authors explain that there has been a recent expansion of knowledge surrounding melanoma genetics but the challenge lies not only in identifying the clinical relevance of these mutations but also in finding therapies that may be used to selectively target these alterations. In addition, as new therapies are developed, the field increasingly faces the issue of resistance to these targeted treatments. Drugs are now available to target melanomas with the most common gene mutation, and research now focuses on overcoming drug resistance. Future research will focus on targeting melanomas with less common mutations. In conclusion, gene‐expression profiling is becoming increasingly useful for diagnosis and prognostic assessment. We may soon see genomic profiling at the individual tumour level being routinely used to predict patients’ likely response to treatment with different immunotherapies.