Abstract
Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the current knowledge of the genetic basis of human melanoma and describes how this information is employed to construct and refine in vivo animal model systems for this disease. The focus is placed on the mouse and how genetics and transgenic technology are being used to generate an accurate melanoma model. The chapter discusses the clinical aspects and molecular basis for melanoma. It is suggested that receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) play crucial roles in coordinated development and proliferation of normal melanocytes and contribute to uncontrolled growth and progression of melanomas. The chapter discusses several RTKs that have been implicated in melanoma genesis or progression, either through correlative expression analyses in human melanoma cell lines or by genetic experiments in animal models. In addition, the chapter emphasizes the requirement to study cancer in an in vivo setting. Mouse tumor model systems, employing advances in transgenic technology and cancer genetics, are generated with varying fidelity. The development of inducible and conditional knockout strains may provide for a more physiologic approach enabling the stepwise acquisition of genetic lesions that is a hallmark of human malignancy. With these tools in hand, one can strive to achieve the ultimate goals of cancer research: improvement in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer.
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