[State-of-the-art pharmacotherapy of malignant melanoma].

The incidence of malignant melanoma continues to rise steadily and is one of the 10 most frequent solid tumors in Germany. Cure rates in early clinical stages are high. However, in case of distant metastasis treatment is palliative by operative, radiological und chemo(immuno)therapeutical means. All therapeutic interventions have until now not shown any clear influence on overall survival. The increasing knowledge of tumor biology, tumor immunology, the pathophysiological mechanisms of the tumor stroma and of molecular-biological understanding of melanoma have led the way to an individual treatment approach. Targeted therapy of melanoma has achieved impressive clinical response in clinical studies and has risen expectations for improving medical care for melanoma-patients in the near future.