Application and Advances of Adoptive Cell Therapy for Melanoma

Abstract Melanoma is a highly aggressive malignancy originating from melanocytes. Patients with advanced melanoma have a poor prognosis, with a high risk of distant metastasis and resistance to targeted therapy or immunotherapy. In recent years, adoptive cell therapy (ACT), an emerging personalized immunotherapy, has made significant progress in the treatment and investigation of melanoma. This review provides a comprehensive overview of ACT in melanoma, emphasizing its current application, therapeutic benefits, prevailing challenges, and future prospects, with particular focus on four major strategies: tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T), T cell receptor-engineered T cells (TCR-T), and other immune cell-based therapies. With continuous evolution of bioengineering and precision medicine, ACT holds increasing potential for treating melanoma and other solid tumors, offering new avenues for clinical translation.