Abstract
Malignant melanoma is a highly metastatic cancer resistant to conventional therapy.The development of melanoma involves both genetic and environmental factors.Most cases of melanoma arise de novo,but some are known to arise in preexisting melanocytic nevi.The traditional hypothesis for melanoma development is that cutaneous melanocytes progressively accumulate mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes over a long time during exposure to ultraviolet,leading to uncontrolled proliferation of melanocytes with acquisition of invasive and metastatic properties,and finally resulting in melanoma formation.An alternative hypothesis is that melanoma begins in extrafollicular dermal melanocyte stem cells (MSCs).Ultraviolet-induced mutations may cause the development of melanoma by altering the process of self-renewal,expansion and differentiation of normal MSCs.Understanding the mechanism underlying melanoma development is conducive to its treatment. Key words: Melanoma; Melanocytes; Stem cells
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