Melanoma: A Historical Walk-through from Palliative Treatment to Modern-day Practice

Melanoma is one of the most common types of malignancy in the world, and one known to carry a very poor prognosis until recent years. This review aims to outline the events in the history of the disease and the impact made by the discoveries along the way, as well as the modern-day consensus by referencing the updated literature regarding the present approach and future directions. In the last two decades, several studies and research have brought significant improvement in the diagnosis and clinical management of melanomas. The development of sentinel lymph node biopsy has brought major changes to the surgical approach to the disease, and modern therapies based on recently developed knowledge changed the death sentence this diagnosis once meant to a manageable condition despite its aggressiveness, keeping in mind that early diagnosis and safe margin excision remain the best and most optimistic course of treatment.