Uveal Melanoma: A European Network to Face the Many Challenges of a Rare Cancer

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most frequent primary ocular cancer in adults, accounting for 5% of all melanomas. Despite effective treatments for the primary tumour, up to 50% of UM patients will develop metastasis, leading to a very poor prognosis and a median overall survival of 6 to 12 months, with...

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Published inCancers Vol. 11; no. 6; p. 817
Main Authors Piperno-Neumann, Sophie, Piulats, Jose Maria, Goebeler, Matthias, Galloway, Iain, Lugowska, Iwona, Becker, Jürgen C, Vihinen, Pia, Van Calster, Joachim, Hadjistilianou, Theodora, Proença, Rui, Caminal, Jose Maria, Rogasik, Muriel, Blay, Jean-Yves, Kapiteijn, Ellen
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland MDPI AG 13.06.2019
MDPI
Subjects
Cancer
Cancer therapies
Chemotherapy
Gene expression
Immune checkpoint inhibitors
Kinases
Liver
Medical prognosis
Melanoma
Metastases
Metastasis
Mutation
NMR
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Oncology
Patients
Proteins
Skin cancer
Studies
Surveillance
Tumors
France
Europe
Germany
Spain
European Reference Network
uveal melanoma
rare cancer
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Summary:Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most frequent primary ocular cancer in adults, accounting for 5% of all melanomas. Despite effective treatments for the primary tumour, up to 50% of UM patients will develop metastasis, leading to a very poor prognosis and a median overall survival of 6 to 12 months, with no major improvements in the last 30 years. There is no standard oncological treatment available for metastatic UM patients, and BRAF/MEK and immune checkpoint inhibitors show disappointing results when compared to cutaneous melanoma (CM). Recent advances in biology, however, identified specific gene and chromosome alterations, potentially permitting an actively tailored surveillance strategy, and dedicated clinical studies. Being a rare cancer, UM patients have to overcome issues such as identifying referral centres, having access to information, and partnering with oncologists for specific management strategies and research priorities. Here, we describe how the EUropean Rare Adult solid CAacer Network (EURACAN) will help in addressing these challenges and accelerating international collaborations to enhance the development of innovative treatments in UM.
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ISSN:2072-6694
2072-6694
DOI:10.3390/cancers11060817