Publication Name	World Journal of Experimental Medicine
Manuscript ID	117938
Country	United States

Category	Oncology
Manuscript Type	Review
Article Title	Melanoma leptomeningeal disease: Advances in diagnosis and emerging therapeutic strategies
Manuscript Source	Invited Manuscript
All Author List	Michael L Middleton and Brandon Lucke-Wold
Funding Agency and Grant Number
Corresponding Author	Brandon Lucke-Wold, MD, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, University of Florida, 1104 Newell Drive, Unit 210, Gainesville, FL 32610, United States. brandon.lucke-wold@neurosurgery.ufl.edu
Key Words	Melanoma leptomeningeal disease; Leptomeningeal metastases; Cerebrospinal fluid diagnostics; Intrathecal immunotherapy; Central nervous system metastases
Core Tip	Melanoma leptomeningeal disease (LMD) is the most severe complication of advanced melanoma, characterized by very poor outcomes and a lack of robust evidence to inform management. This narrative review synthesizes recent advances in the understanding of LMD biology, highlights the clinical significance of evolving diagnostic strategies including neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid-based assays, and reviews emerging therapeutic approaches. The article contrasts LMD with parenchymal brain metastases, identifies ongoing clinical challenges, and notes key research priorities needed to improve outcomes for this historically understudied condition.
Citation	Middleton ML, Lucke-Wold B. Melanoma leptomeningeal disease: Advances in diagnosis and emerging therapeutic strategies. World J Exp Med 2026; In press

Received	2025-12-18 15:55
Peer-Review Started	2025-12-18 15:55
First Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-01-08 07:54
Return for Revision	2026-01-08 07:54
Revised	2026-01-12 01:51
Publication Fee Transferred
Second Decision by Editor	2026-02-03 02:33
Second Decision by Editor-in-Chief
Final Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-02-03 08:01
Articles in Press	2026-02-03 08:01
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript

ISSN	2220-315x (online)
Open Access	This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Copyright	© The Author(s) 2026. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Permissions	For details, please visit: http://www.wjgnet.com/bpg/gerinfo/207
Publisher	Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
Website	http://www.wjgnet.com