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Malignant melanoma is one of the most aggressive malignant tumors with unpredictable evolution. Photodynamic therapy has been successfully used as the first line or palliative therapy for the treatment of lung, esophageal, bladder, non melanoma skin and head and neck cancers. However, classical photodynamic therapy has shown some drawbacks that limit its clinical application in melanoma. The most important challenge is to overcome melanoma resistance, due to melanosomal trapping, presence of melanin, enhanced oxidative stress defense, defects in the apoptotic pathways, immune evasion, neoangiogenesis stimulation. In this review we considered: (1) main signaling molecular pathways deregulated in melanoma as potential targets for personalized therapy, including photodynamic therapy, (2) results of the clinical studies regarding the photodynamic therapy of melanoma, especially advanced metastatic stage, (3) progresses made in the design of anti-melanoma photosensitizers (4) inhibition of tumor neoangiogenesis, as well as (5) advantages of the derived therapies like photothermal therapy, sonodynamic therapy. Moreover, the possibility of combined therapeutical regimens, such as photodynamic therapy and immune stimulation or theranostic approaches may increase the potential beneficial role of photodynamic therapy as an adjuvant in melanoma treatment.

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New biomaterials based on nanoparticles (NPs) carrying polyphenols-rich extracts (Cornus mas) recently showed promising anti-inflammatory activity in psoriasis. We aimed to understand how topically delivered silver and gold nanoparticles complexed with Cornus mas (Ag-NPs-CM, Au-NPs-CM) modulate inflammation in psoriasis at cellular and molecular level. The impact on psoriatic inflammation was assessed in vitro on pro-inflammatory macrophages, by clinical score, high-frequency ultrasonography and immunohistology of psoriasis plaques treated with Ag-NPs-CM, Au-NPs-CM or control. Incubation of pro-inflammatory macrophages with nanoparticles significantly decreased the release of NO, IL-12 and TNF-α. Immunofluorescence confirmed that nanoparticles significantly reduced CD68-positive macrophages and their IL-12 and TNF-α production in human psoriasis plaques. NPs-CM appear to repress NF-κB activation in macrophages, inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory factors with causal role in psoriasis. Ag and Au NPs-CM represent a novel nanoparticle-based "green" technology which may provide an efficient tool for modern psoriasis therapy, circumventing immunosuppression-related side effects of biologicals.

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