Melanoma 2003: Turning Scientific Discoveries into Clinical Targets
May 5-7, 2003
The first SOTS meeting on melanoma, and the second meeting outside the initial pilot diseases, brought together a diverse group of experts, including basic scientists, medical oncologists, surgeons, pathologists, dermatologists, epidemiologists, pharmaceutical company representatives and patient advocates to discuss discovery and development of molecular targets for this challenging disease. Scientific reviews on the first day considered the present state of melanoma genetics, identification of new molecular targets in melanoma by high-throughput genomic methods, identification of minimal residual disease in high-risk patients, and the state of treatment of metastatic disease in melanoma. Modality program sessions on the second morning provided opportunity for cross-education and sharing of ideas between the different disciplines. The remainder of the meeting, and its major focus, was working groups for in-depth discussion and generation of recommendations for future research in four areas: capitalizing on existing targets, identification & prioritization of new targets, immunotherapy, and applying emerging treatments to high-risk populations. Several general questions recurring throughout the meeting were how to select the most promising targets and generate a target pipeline, how to overcome the shortage of well-characterized primary tumor specimens, what are the most appropriate models for melanoma research, and what is the role of the tumor microenvironment in melanoma oncogenesis and treatment. Other overarching areas identified include better knowledge of melanoma cell and tumor biology, establishment of an international consortium for sharing of banked tissues and well-characterized melanoma cell lines, and improved access to bioinformatics support.