Background:
Skin cancer is divided into two main types: nonmelanoma and melanoma skin cancer.
Melanoma originates from skin melanocyte cells and it is more likely to invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body. Stage IV melanoma is classified as metastatic melanoma due to the presence of distant metastases, while stage III is only marked by metastases in regional lymph nodes (LN). Having said that, cancer DNA vaccines and novel approaches in which mRNA vaccines are applied can induce a systemic immune response and are effective on metastases and tumors which are not easily removable by surgery.
Melanoma is an outstanding example of a tumor that has manifested the most response to immune therapy due to having a wide range of neoantigens caused by mutations on its surface.Methods: Here in this study, we looked for the most common variations found on key glycoprotein receptors in metastatic melanoma. The data regarding antigen's structure, number of epitopes, antibody-antigen affinity, and the site of mutations have exported from MedGen and PubChem online databases as well as recent articles published over the last ۱۵ years. Results: The most common driver mutations observed in cutaneous melanoma are BRAF, NRAS, NF۱, microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), and PTEN. Since their discovery, these tumor antigens have been used for multiple purposes such as diagnostic markers and cancer vaccines. This new generation of vaccines can be delivered into cells using viral or nonviral gene delivery systems. Vaccines ideally need to present all of the tumor-associated antigens on the antigen-presenting cells (APC) to stimulate an adequate and long-lasting immune response. According to studies conducted in preceding years, a significant improvement in melanoma treatment was observed using targeted therapies, which pharmacologically inhibit key mutations in melanoma.