On exosome functional role in cancer: miR-494 complex regulation in melanoma cells and corresponding exosomes

Cutaneous melanoma represents a major worldwide health issue, nearly accounting for 75% of skin cancer deaths (1). Although in the last decade novel promising therapies have been developed, surgical treatment in melanoma early stages still provides the best opportunity for cure. Indeed, despite important successes obtained with targeted therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors, most patients undergo resistance and responses are not durable (2). In addition, a number of meta-analyses reported significant gender-specific differences in the efficacy of therapeutic approaches, unexpectedly indicating a higher increment of overall survival in men than in women, particularly when treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (3). Taking in mind all these points, the identification of informative biomarkers, useful either to choose first line therapies, or to predict relapses and clinical outcomes, represent a fundamental point providing a rationale for making the best therapeutic choice for each single patient.