Safety Profiles and Pharmacovigilance Considerations for Recently Patented Anticancer Drugs: Cutaneous Melanoma

Malignant melanoma is a skin cancer responsible of 90% of cutaneous cancer related deaths. In recent years, breakthroughs in treatment strategy have revolutionized the prognosis both of early and advanced melanoma patients. In particular, treatment with monoclonal antibodies targeting co-inhibitory checkpoints or specific molecular pathways are pawing the way for a new era of promising options, by prolonging survival time of these patients. Moreover, unlike the chemotherapy that was used until some time ago, these new drugs have a good and more manageable toxicity profile. However, because of the recent introduction in clinical practice of the new agents, there is a learning curve among physicians regarding early recognition and management of the associated side effects.