Advanced melanoma has the highest per-death loss of years of potential life expectancy except for adult leukemia. Standard therapy with agents such as dacarbazine, temozolomide and IL-2 is associated with notoriously low response rates. The identification of new active agents is, therefore, critical in this disease. In recent years, better understanding of melanoma biology, as well as cancer and immune biology in general has led to the development of a number of new potential therapeutic agents for advanced melanoma. While many of these compounds are being tested in clinical trials, there are more agents in various stages of preclinical development. These novel therapeutics offer hope for this aggressive and so far largely treatment-resistant disease. In this review we will discuss some of the most promising novel therapeutic agents for advanced melanoma.
