Predicting the outcome of melanoma: can we tell the future of a patient's melanoma?

Cutaneous melanoma is responsible for the greatest number of skin cancer related deaths. For many years there were few therapeutic options. However, in the last years a number of new therapeutic options have emerged showing improved survival rates for advanced melanoma patients. A significant question based on these findings is whether identification and treatment of patients with biologically aggressive melanomas at an earlier clinical stage offer an opportunity for even greater improvement in overall survival. In this review, we will discuss the recent advancements in molecular strategies beyond traditional staging to identify biologically aggressive melanomas, and which are their implications in terms of predicting the prognosis of patients with melanoma.