Molecular Pathways in Melanomagenesis: What We Learned from Next-Generation Sequencing Approaches

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Conventional clinico-pathological features in melanoma patients should be integrated with new molecular diagnostic, predictive, and prognostic factors coming from the expanding genomic profiles. Cutaneous melanoma (CM), even differing in biological behavior according to sun-exposure levels on the skin areas where it arises, is molecularly heterogeneous. The next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches are providing data on mutation landscapes in driver genes that may account for distinct pathogenetic mechanisms and pathways. The purpose was to group and classify all somatic driver mutations observed in the main NGS-based studies. RECENT FINDINGS: Whole exome and whole genome sequencing approaches have provided data on spectrum and distribution of genetic and genomic alterations as well as allowed to discover new cancer genes underlying CM pathogenesis. SUMMARY: After evaluating the mutational status in a cohort of 686 CM cases from the most representative NGS studies, three molecular CM subtypes were proposed: BRAF(mut), RAS(mut), and non-BRAF(mut)/non-RAS(mut).