Clinical-biologic patterns of metastatic melanoma and their effect on treatment

We have identified three distinct groups of patients with metastatic malignant melanoma that differ in their clinical behavior and responsiveness to therapy. These include a favorable group of patients with lymph node or skin metastases, an intermediate prognostic group with lung or bone metastases, and a poor prognostic group with brain or gastrointestinal involvement. These three groups differed in their predicted objective response to therapy, in their likelihood to achieve a complete remission, and in their median survival.