Melanoma is a form of skin cancer that has a poor prognosis and which is on the rise in Western populations. Melanoma arises from the malignant transformation of pigment-producing cells, melanocytes. The only known environmental risk factor is exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light and in people with fair skin the risk is greatly increased. Melanoma pathogenesis is also driven by genetic factors. Oncogenic NRAS mutations activate both effector pathways Raf-MEK-ERK and PI3K-Akt. The Raf-MEK-ERK pathway may also be activated via mutations in the BRAF gene. The PI3K-Akt pathway may be activated through loss or mutation of the inhibitory tumor suppressor gene PTEN. These mutations arise early during melanoma pathogenesis and are preserved throughout tumor progression. Melanoma development has been shown to be strongly associated with inactivation of the p16INK4a/cyclin dependent kinases 4 and 6/retinoblastoma protein (p16INK4a/CDK4,6/pRb) and p14ARF/human double minute 2/p53 (p14ARF/HMD2/p53) tumor suppressor pathways. MITF and TP53 are implicated in further melanoma progression.
Category
Cancer
Brite
Human diseases in ICD-11 classification [BR:br08403]
02 Neoplasms
Malignant neoplasms, except primary neoplasms of lymphoid, haematopoietic, central nervous system or related tissues
Malignant neoplasms, stated or presumed to be primary, of specified sites, except of lymphoid, haematopoietic, central nervous system or related tissues
Malignant neoplasms of skin
2C30 Melanoma of skin
H00038 Melanoma
Pathway-based classification of diseases [BR:br08402]
Replication and repair
nt06510 Telomere length regulation
H00038 Melanoma
nt06506 Double-strand break repair
H00038 Melanoma
Signal transduction
nt06526 MAPK signaling
H00038 Melanoma
Tumor markers [br08442.html]
H00038
Cancer-associated carbohydrates [br08441.html]
H00038
Kannengiesser C, Dalle S, Leccia MT, Avril MF, Bonadona V, Chompret A, Lasset C, Leroux D, Thomas L, Lesueur F, Lenoir G, Sarasin A, Bressac-de Paillerets B
Title
New founder germline mutations of CDKN2A in melanoma-prone families and multiple primary melanoma development in a patient receiving levodopa treatment.