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The major treatment advances for melanoma can be attributed to anti–-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated protein 4 (anti–CTLA-4; ipilimumab) and anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (anti–PD-1; nivolumab, pembrolizumab) immune checkpoint inhibitors and the combination of BRAF and MEK inhibitors...
The American Cancer Society and Melanoma Research Alliance have selected two new promising projects in a second round of funding under a partnership between the two organizations. The first grants funded through the partnership, in 2018, focused on advancing research to reduce side effects...
In a post hoc 5-year follow-up of the KEYNOTE-006 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Caroline Robert, MD, of Institut Gustave Roussy, Université Paris-Sud, and colleagues found that pembrolizumab maintained overall and progression-free survival benefits over ipilimumab in advanced melanoma.1 In ...
As reported by Leiter et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the final analysis of the German phase III DeCOG-SLT trial have shown no distant metastasis-free survival, recurrence-free survival, or overall survival benefit with complete lymph node dissection vs observation in patients with...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Menzer et al found that combined BRAF/MEK inhibitor therapy appeared to be more active than single-inhibitor therapy in advanced melanoma with rare BRAF mutations. Study Details The study involved data from 103 patients with advanced melanoma ...
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hong et al found that adjuvant whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) was not associated with a significant benefit in distant intracranial control vs observation after local treatment of patients with one to three melanoma brain...
In a Norwegian study published by Lergenmuller et al in JAMA Dermatology, researchers found evidence of a dose-response association between lifetime indoor tanning and risk of development of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in women. The association was the same regardless of duration of use and...
In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Khodadoust et al found that pembrolizumab was active in patients with advanced relapsed or refractory mycosis fungoides or Sézary syndrome. In the U.S.-based multicenter trial, 24 patients with advanced mycosis fungoides (n = 9) or...
In the past few weeks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued regulatory decisions in prostate cancer, urothelial cancer, myelofibrosis, breast cancer, pediatric brain cancer, leukemia, and skin cancer. Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Niraparib in Metastatic...
Superior recurrence-free survival benefit was observed with nivolumab vs ipilimumab—and was consistent across disease stage, programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression levels, and BRAF mutation status—in patients with resected stage III/IV melanoma and a high risk of recurrence, according to ...
Ana Maria Arance Fernandez, MD, PhD, of the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, discusses the negative results of the phase III IMspire170 trial, which evaluated cobimetinib/atezolizumab vs pembrolizumab monotherapy in patients with BRAF V600 wild-type melanoma (Abstract LBA69).
Georgina V. Long, MD, PhD, of the Melanoma Institute Australia, The University of Sydney, discusses long-term outcomes from a phase II trial which showed that nivolumab/ipilimumab therapy demonstrated durable intracranial responses in patients with melanoma brain metastases. No new adverse events were reported (Abstract 1311O).
Sungjune Kim, MD, PhD, of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, discusses phase II study findings on the safety and tolerability of nivolumab/ipilimumab plus stereotactic body radiation therapy (Abstract 1321P).
Paolo A. Ascierto, MD, of the Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Napoli, discusses phase III study findings confirming the superior activity of nivolumab vs ipilimumab in resected stage III/IV melanoma in terms of regression-free survival after a minimum follow-up of 36 months (Abstract 1310O).
An update of results of the phase III CheckMate 067 trial at 5 years presented by Larkin et al at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2019 Congress showed that both nivolumab in combination with ipilimumab and nivolumab alone provided significant improvements in overall survival,...
In a pooled analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Regan et al evaluated treatment-free survival as an outcome measure among patients with advanced melanoma receiving nivolumab/ipilimumab or either agent alone in the CheckMate 067 and 069 trials. Study Details The study involved...
Advanced melanoma has become a different entity in the era of immunotherapy and targeted agents. Considering the potential for good outcomes from systemic therapy in advanced disease, has the role of surgery changed? Should it be offered up front or limited to patients with oligometastatic ...
In a Chinese phase Ib study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sheng et al reported activity with the combination of the anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) agent toripalimab plus axitinib in patients with metastatic mucosal melanoma. As stated by the investigators, whereas...
Researchers have developed the largest descriptive genomic analysis of patients with Merkel cell carcinoma to date. Their analysis, published by Knepper et al in Clinical Cancer Research, will provide important information to improve the care and treatment of patients with Merkel cell...
As reported by Suzanne L. Topalian, MD, and colleagues in JAMA Oncology, long-term follow up of patients from a phase I expansion cohort study indicated 5-year overall survival rates of 34.2%, 27.7%, and 15.6% among patients who received nivolumab monotherapy for advanced melanoma, renal cell...
In a post hoc 5-year follow-up of the KEYNOTE-006 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Caroline Robert, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that pembrolizumab maintained overall and progression-free survival benefits over ipilimumab in patients with advanced melanoma. In the primary analysis from the...
A study by Duffy et al in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology reported on specific gene variations affecting the number and types of moles on the body and their role in causing skin cancer. “The goal was to investigate the genetic underpinnings of different mole classes, or...
In a meta-analysis reported in JAMA Network Open, Mincu et al found that the risk of some types of cardiovascular adverse events was higher with combined BRAF and MEK inhibitor treatment vs BRAF inhibitor monotherapy in patients with melanoma. The meta-analysis included 2,317 patients in five...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Georgina V. Long, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III ECHO-301/KEYNOTE-252 trial showed no improvement in progression-free or overall survival with the addition of the IDO1 inhibitor epacadostat to pembrolizumab in unresectable stage III or stage IV melanoma....
Late in 2018, pembrolizumab was granted accelerated approval in the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network protocol 9 (CITN-09), also known...
A new study published by Stump et al in Genetics in Medicine investigated whether genetic testing would motivate people at risk of developing melanoma to alter their behavior in order to reduce their risk. “We are trying to understand whether a genetic test result adds value over and above...
People whose diets included high levels of vitamin A had a 17% reduction in risk for developing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, as compared to those who ate modest amounts of foods and supplements rich in vitamin A. These findings were published by Kim et al in JAMA Dermatology. Vitamin A is...
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to bempegaldesleukin in combination with nivolumab for advanced melanoma and cleared an investigational new drug application for a phase I trial of SB 11285 in advanced solid tumors. Breakthrough...
In a post hoc 5-year follow-up of the KEYNOTE-006 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Robert et al found that pembrolizumab maintained overall and progression-free survival benefits over ipilimumab in patients with advanced melanoma. In the primary analysis from the trial, both pembrolizumab...
Nearly-three quarters of Americans are not familiar with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common type of cancer in the United States, according to a new survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of The Skin Cancer Foundation. Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma is more common...
As reported by Topalian et al in JAMA Oncology, long-term follow up of patients from a phase I expansion cohort study indicated 5-year overall survival rates of 34.2%, 27.7%, and 15.6% among patients who received nivolumab monotherapy for advanced melanoma, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and...
Commenting for The ASCO Post, melanoma expert Vernon K. Sondak, MD, Chair of the Department of Cutaneous Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, maintained that the association between immunotherapy-related toxicity and better outcomes is not yet clear. He first noted the impact of novel...
In the EORTC 1325/KEYNOTE-054 trial of adjuvant pembrolizumab in patients with stage III melanoma, recurrences were reduced by 44% in the immunotherapy arm, vs placebo, but this benefit increased to a 63% reduction in risk among patients developing an immune-related adverse event on treatment.1...
A study by Wei et al in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology has found that individuals with a first-degree relative with a history of melanoma are at an increased risk for melanomas and keratinocyte cancers such as squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. Methods...
Nonmelanoma skin cancers may display an aggressive histologic subtype that is not diagnosed on initial biopsy. In a prospective, cross-sectional study reported by Kyllo et al in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, researchers determined that a significant portion of nomelanoma...
In a nearly 20-year follow-up of a Scandinavian trial reported in The Lancet, Utjés et al found no difference in survival outcomes with 2-cm vs 4-cm surgical excision margins for primary localized cutaneous melanoma with a thickness > 2 mm. The previous report from the trial showed no...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation to a phospholipid-drug conjugate in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; granted Orphan Drug designation to an immunotherapy for small cell lung cancer (SCLC); accepted supplemental biologics license applications (sBLAs) ...
In a phase I trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Bagot et al found that IPH4102—a first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting KIR3DL2—was safe and showed activity in patients with relapsed or refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, particularly those with Sézary syndrome....
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Long et al, the phase III ECHO-301/KEYNOTE-252 trial showed no improvement in progression-free or overall survival with the addition of the IDO1 inhibitor epacadostat to pembrolizumab in unresectable stage III or stage IV melanoma. Study Details In the...
Final analyses from the ALCANZA study, a phase III trial investigating brentuximab vedotin vs physician’s choice for the treatment of CD30-positive cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), were presented by Horwitz et al at the 15th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML; Abstract...
In the phase II OpACIN-neo study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Rozeman et al identified a promising dosing schedule for neoadjuvant ipilimumab/nivolumab in macroscopic stage III melanoma. Study Design The trial included 86 evaluable patients with resectable stage III melanoma involving the...
In a study conducted under the supervision of researchers from the MedUni Vienna, human experts competed against computer algorithms in diagnosing pigmented skin lesions. The algorithms achieved better results when diagnosing, but had decreased performance for out-of-distribution images. These...
In the single-center, phase II NeoCombi trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Long et al found that neoadjuvant dabrafenib plus trametinib produced promising response rates in resectable, stage IIIB/C, BRAF V600–mutant melanoma. As noted by the investigators, adjuvant dabrafenib plus...
New research on the immunotherapy talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC)—an injectable oncolytic virus—for patients with unresectable melanoma was presented by Milhem et al at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 9524). Researchers reported the ad hoc analysis of progression-free survival...
In an extended analysis of the COMBI-d and COMBI-v trials reported at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 9507) and in The New England Journal of Medicine, Robert et al found a 5-year overall survival rate of 34% with the combination of dabrafenib and trametinib in previously untreated...
Tyler Iorizzo, a PhD candidate in physics at UMass Lowell’s Advanced Biophotonics Laboratory, has won international recognition for his work in developing an imaging device that could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of certain skin cancers. Mr. Iorizzo received an Educational Award from...
Ahmad A. Tarhini, MD, PhD, of Emory University and Winship Cancer Institute, discusses phase III findings from the U.S. Intergroup E1609 trial, which showed survival benefits for patients with resected high-risk melanoma—for the first time in the history of melanoma adjuvant therapy (Abstract 9504).
In 1996, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) published its first set of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®), covering eight tumor types. NCCN Guidelines are now published for more than 70 tumor types and topics. Some of the key updates for 2019 were presented...
According to a study published by Kacew et al in the European Journal of Cancer, copy number alterations in the chromosome 3q arm may be linked to immunotherapy response in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. In fact, this and other genetic markers may prove to be useful...
Elderly survivors of breast cancer, lung cancer, and melanoma face risk of brain metastasis later in life, and may require extra surveillance in the years following initial cancer treatment, according to results of a study published by Ascha et al in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, &...