[Melanoma - an overview of the disease and its treatment]

Melanoma arises from malignant transformation of melanocytes and accounts for approximately 3500 new cases per year in Switzerland. The most important risk factors include intermittent UV exposure, fair skin, a high number of nevi, five or more atypical nevi, and a positive family history. The most common type is the superficial spreading melanoma, followed by the nodular type. Diagnosis is primarily clinical, for example using the ABCDE rule, and is supported by dermoscopy performed by dermatologists. If there is a suspicion, a narrow complete excision should be performed to confirm the diagnosis. Treatment options have improved drastically over the years, so nowadays there are indeed good chances of cure, even in a metastatic setting. Immunotherapy as well as targeted therapies have led to major breakthroughs. While adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapy is recommended in earlier stages of disease, PD-1 blockage plays a central role in metastatic disease, preferably in combination with anti-CTLA-4-antibody or, according to more recent data, with an anti-LAG-3-antibody. Targeted therapy also has an established role today in treatment, both in the adjuvant and curative settings. After successful treatment, regular follow-ups should be performed to detect relapses at an early stage.