Malignant Melanoma and Soft Tissue Sarcomas.

Malignant melanoma (MM) of the skin has increased dramatically throughout the world during recent years. The overall increase in incidence has been dominated by new cases in the developed countries, with most patients being diagnosed in North America and Western Europe and, relative to population size, a large number of cases in Australia and New Zealand. While it is obvious that a combination of light-colored populations and increasing exposure to ultraviolet radiation has led to an increased risk of the development of malignant melanomas, it remains largely unknown in detail which factors are responsible for the transformation of a rarely proliferating melanocyte into a highly aggressive, often fatal tumor. Recently it has been shown that surface anomalies on the melanoma cells are responsible for a loosely bound architecture of tumor clones, leading to the easy development of metastatic disease. For these reasons there is an increasing need for advanced diagnostic strategies and new therapy modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]