PMEL and melanoma: Previous studies have shown that melanomas are indeed able to modulate the immune system by inducing a specific immune response against tumor-associated antigens (gp100, gp75, MART-1, and tyrosinase) [30, 31] and through the production of growth and immune-regulatory factors, such as fibroblast growth factor, transforming growth factor-α and β (TGF-α and TGF-β), IL- 8, and IL-10 [31–33].