Stora framsteg för systemisk behandling vid malignt melanom.

Great advances in the systemic treatment in malignant melanoma patients Up until a few years ago there was no systemic treatment with the capacity to  prolong overall survival for patients with advanced malignant melanoma. Several new treatments have been established in clinical practice in recent years and they belong to two main groups; checkpoint inhibitors and inhibitors of an intracellular pathway (MAP kinase). The latter drugs are only active in melanomas with an activating BRAF mutation, which is present in half of the patients. Side effect management is important and in particular for the checkpoint inhibitors, which activate the immune system and frequently provoke immune related reactions. The introduction of these new treatments has substantially improved prognosis and some patients might even be cured. Based on ongoing research, more therapeutic breakthroughs can be anticipated in the years to come.