NF-κB activation in melanoma

Metastatic melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer that is notoriously resistant to current cancer therapies. In human melanoma, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) is upregulated, leading to the deregulation of gene transcription. In this review, we discuss (i) the relationship between gene alteration in melanoma and upregulation of NF-kappa B, (ii) mechanisms by which activated NF-kappa B switch from pro-apoptotic to anti-apoptotic functions in melanoma and (iii) autocrine mechanisms that promote constitutive activation of NF-kappa B in metastatic melanoma.