cDNA arrays and the enigma of melanoma immune responsiveness

Melanoma is a cancer characterized by predisposition to natural and induced immune rejection. The occurrence of this phenomenon, however, remains spor adic and capricious while there is no clear understanding of the chain of e vents responsible. With the progression of the understanding of the molecul ar immunology of melanoma during the last decade, several theories suggesti ng immune tolerance (inadequate immune response) and/or immune escape (adap tation of cancer cells to a vigorous immune pressure) as possible modulator s of melanoma growth have emerged. As the number of these hypotheses, mostl y based on molecular or pre-clinical models, has increased exponentially, t he relevance of each individual one has been conversely decreasing leaving the observer without confidence that a theory likely to explain this phenom enon can be soon formulated. In this review, we will discuss a direct appro ach whereby new theories might be identified by direct observation of human phenomena as they occur by depiction of molecular portraits of melanoma le sions using global transcript analysis.