Melanoma in children and adolescents: Distinct biology, evolving therapies, and unmet needs

The incidence of melanoma is increasing worldwide, also among pediatric patients. According to the recent EUROCARE-6 report, cutaneous melanoma accounts for approximately 6% of all tumors in children, and about 10% among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) (i.e., patients aged 15-39 years).¹ The reported incidence rate among patients aged <19 years is 0.43/100,000, rising to 6.9/100,000 among AYAs. As such, according to the definition adopted by European pediatric cooperative groups for rare childhood tumors (i.e., tumors with an annual incidence of <2 cases per million population), cutaneous melanoma can be considered a rare tumor in children, but not in AYAs.