Fig. 1: The striking features of melanoma.
a Melanoma cells display high levels of mutational burden in cancer. b Melanoma cell signal transduction pathways contain significant redundancy in response to therapy, allowing for rapid signal rewiring to avoid cell death. c Invasive, stem-like, and proliferative cell states are distinct intra-tumoral phenotypes that drive melanoma aggressiveness. d Melanoma cells secrete factors akin to stromal cells, promoting melanoma cell viability in an autocrine manner. e Melanoma cells secrete factors that reprogram adjacent stroma which, in turn, secrete pro-tumorigenic factors that promote melanoma aggressiveness in a paracrine manner. f Melanoma cells can survive the harsh environment of systemic circulation, with >70% melanoma patients possessing brain metastases at autopsy. g Melanoma cells readily survive ex vivo, allowing for high success rate in establishing cell lines and PDX.
