We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Uveal Melanoma, Angiogenesis and Immunotherapy, Is There Any Hope?
- Authors
Castet, Florian; Garcia-Mulero, Sandra; Sanz-Pamplona, Rebeca; Cuellar, Andres; Casanovas, Oriol; Caminal, Josep Maria; Piulats, Josep Maria
- Abstract
Uveal melanoma is considered a rare disease but it is the most common intraocular malignancy in adults. Local treatments are effective, but the systemic recurrence rate is unacceptably high. Moreover, once metastasis have developed the prognosis is poor, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%, and systemic therapies, including immunotherapy, have rendered poor results. The tumour biology is complex, but angiogenesis is a highly important pathway in these tumours. Vasculogenic mimicry, the ability of melanomas to generate vascular channels independently of endothelial cells, could play an important role, but no effective therapy targeting this process has been developed so far. Angiogenesis modulates the tumour microenvironment of melanomas, and a close interplay is established between them. Therefore, combining immune strategies with drugs targeting angiogenesis offers a new therapeutic paradigm. In preclinical studies, these approaches effectively target these tumours, and a phase I clinical study has shown encouraging results in cutaneous melanomas. In this review, we will discuss the importance of angiogenesis in uveal melanoma, with a special focus on vasculogenic mimicry, and describe the interplay between angiogenesis and the tumour microenvironment. In addition, we will suggest future therapeutic approaches based on these observations and mention ways in which to potentially enhance current treatments.
- Subjects
MELANOMA prognosis; CANCER relapse; DRUG delivery systems; IMMUNOTHERAPY; MELANOMA; METASTASIS; UVEA cancer; PATHOLOGIC neovascularization
- Publication
Cancers, 2019, Vol 11, Issue 6, p834
- ISSN
2072-6694
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/cancers11060834