Immunotherapy has transformed melanoma treatment. In a subgroup of patients, targeting the immunological checkpoints cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 and programmed cell death protein 1 resulted in better survival. Unfortunately, immune checkpoint inhibitors have serious adverse effects, and many patients do not respond to therapy. As a result, prognostic biomarkers to evaluate risk and predictive biomarkers to determine which patients are likely to react to therapy are in high demand. This review outlines prognostic and predictive biomarkers that are currently being researched. Notably, specific transcriptome markers are already utilised in the clinic to prognosticate patients, albeit infrequently. Programmed cell death protein ligand 1 expression has been found to correlate with benefit in the predictive scenario, however it is not accurate enough to be utilised as an exclusionary biomarker.
Future research should concentrate on biomarkers that are easily replicable, cost effective, and accurate. One such route forward might be to employ easily available clinical material, such as blood or hematoxylin and eosin-stained pictures.
Reference: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40257-019-00475-1
