Cutaneous melanoma and purinergic modulation by phenolic compounds.

Cutaneous melanoma is a complex pathology that still has only treatments that lack efficiency and offer many adverse effects. Due to this scenario emerges the need to analyze other possible treatments against this disease, such as the effect of phenolic compounds. These substances have proven antitumor effects, but still have not been fully explored as a form of therapy to combat melanoma. Also, the purinergic receptors, along with its system molecules, take part in the formation of tumors from many pathways, such as the actions of ectoenzymes and receptors activity, especially P2Rs family, and are formed by structures that can be modulated by the phenolic compounds. Therefore, more studies have to be made with the aim of explaining the purinergic system activity in carcinogenesis of cutaneous melanoma and the effects of its modulation by phenolic compound, in order to enable the development of new therapies to combat this aggressive and feared cancer.