The modern classification of melanomas is based not only on their clinical and morphological models, but also on their characteristic genetic mutations, showing the pathways of MM development, which allows the implementation of targeted therapies and improves the outcome of treatment. The pathogenesis of melanoma is increasingly being elucidated by data from a large number of studies based on molecular profiling. For this reason, the latest WHO classification is based not only on clinical and morphological characteristics, the role of ultraviolet radiation, and solar-induced trauma, but also on molecular genetic alterations. The three major oncogenes involved in the pathogenesis of malignant melanoma are BRAF, NRAS, and c-KIT. Significant genetic characteristics are also the changes in CDKN2A, CDK4, CCND1, RB1. There are various activated and inactivated pathways determining the molecular pathogenesis of melanomas, knowledge of which is important for the discovery of new therapeutic approaches. We can call the modern classification approach complex, based on the role of solar-induced trauma, the result of ultraviolet radiation, the clinical and morphological characteristics of melanomas, and the characteristic genomic alterations.
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