Melanoma is one of the most malignant forms of
skin cancer; with a rapidly increasing
prevalence. Early-stage
melanoma is curable, but advanced metastatic
melanoma is almost always fatal, and
patients with such advanced
disease have short median
survival.
Surgery and
radiotherapy play a limited
role in the
treatment of metastatic
melanoma. Rather,
chemotherapy remains the mainstay of
treatment, although other approaches, including
biotherapy and
gene therapy, have been attempted. The authors hereby, evaluated the use of
temozolomide [TMZ] for treating metastatic
melanoma compared to
dacarbazine [
DTIC], the
effectiveness of TMZ for treating
brain metastases, as well as TMZ resistance and how the
efficacy of TMZ in
malignant melanoma can be increased. Two chemotherapeutic regimens are commonly used for
palliative treatment of
malignant melanoma intravenous administration of
DTIC and
oral administration of the
alkylating agent temozolomide [TMZ]. Compared to
DTIC, TMZ is very well tolerated and has an advantage in terms of improving the
quality of life of
patients with metastatic
melanoma. While the
prognosis is currently unpromising,
chemotherapy plays a palliative
role for
patients with metastatic
melanoma. The
toxicity of
treatment regimens based on
DTIC and TMZ do not differ significantly, although TMZ is costlier. These findings provide a reference for
future researchers via a comprehensive
analysis of the relevant
literature