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At the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, investigators presented long-term follow-up data for immunotherapy in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma and new data for its use in the neoadjuvant setting. The results drew high interest from attendees and a number of questions were raised following the...
Squamous cell carcinoma is the second-most-common form of skin cancer. Evidence suggests the human papillomavirus (HPV) plays a role in the development of some types of this skin cancer. Two years ago, a 97-year-old woman whose right leg was covered with squamous cell tumors went to see...
An analysis of newly diagnosed patients with cutaneous melanoma brain metastases treated with checkpoint blockade immunotherapy has found the treatment was associated with an increase in median overall survival of 12.4 months compared with 5.2 months—a 1.4-fold improvement. The benefit was...
Dr. Weiss is Assistant Professor (Medical Oncology), Developmental Therapeutics, Melanoma Program, Yale Cancer Center. Dr. Sznol is Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology); Co-Director, Cancer Immunology Program, Yale Cancer Center Co-Director, Yale SPORE in Skin Cancer, New Haven, Connecticut. ...
A POOLED analysis by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has shown a benefit of treatment beyond disease progression on Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) in some patients receiving anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (anti–PD-1) antibodies for unresectable or...
“THIS IS a wonderful presentation and a very exciting trial,” said formal discussant Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. Despite the remarkable advances achieved with anti–programmed cell death protein 1 and ligand 1 (anti–PD-1/anti–PD-L1) treatment, “there...
COMBINING CMP-001, a Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist, plus pembrolizumab (Keytruda) appears to overcome resistance to anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (anti–PD-1) therapy, according to a preliminary phase Ib study.1 Adding CMP-001 to pembrolizumab was well tolerated, with antitumor efficacy ...
Flight attendants showed an elevated incidence of several types of cancer compared with the general population, according to findings published by McNeely et al in Environmental Health. “Our findings of higher rates of several cancers among flight attendants is striking given the low rates...
On June 27, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the combination of the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib (Braftovi) and the MEK inhibitor binimetinib (Mektovi) in patients with advanced BRAF V600–mutant melanoma, as detected by an FDA-approved test.1 Dual targeting of the MAPK...
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center researchers have published a new guide to help clinicians navigate a recent revolution in care for advanced Merkel cell carcinoma. The guide was published in JNCCN–Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and it accompanies NCCN’s new...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for standard review a new supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as adjuvant therapy in the treatment of patients with resected, high-risk stage III melanoma. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or...
The implementation of educational interventions among heavy equipment operators, or operating engineers, in Michigan significantly increased the use of sunscreen and decreased the number of sunburns, reported Duffy et al in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. “The rates of...
In the phase III DERMA trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Dreno et al found that an adjuvant MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic provided no benefit vs placebo in patients with resected MAGE-A3–positive stage IIIB or IIIC melanoma. Development of the agent for use in melanoma has been stopped. The ...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved encorafenib (Braftovi) and binimetinib (Mektovi) in combination for patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma with a BRAF V600E or V600K mutation, as detected by an FDA-approved test. Approval was based on the randomized,...
The call from the dermatologist came at noon on Good Friday, just after my wife left with our two young daughters for a week on her family’s tree farm in Northern Michigan. I was on call for the hospital inpatient leukemia service, so I could not join them. When the dermatologist solemnly began,...
As reported at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 9519) and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Migden et al, results of early-phase testing show activity of the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor cemiplimab in advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Currently, no...
Recent research has shown that the tumor microenvironment in older patients promoted melanoma metastasis and resistance to targeted therapy with a BRAF inhibitor. Now, a new study investigating the relationships among age, response to anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)...
On May 4, 2018, dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) in combination was granted approval for treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic anaplastic thyroid cancer with BRAF V600E mutation and no satisfactory locoregional treatment options.1-3 Dabrafenib is not indicated for ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Caroline Robert, MD, PhD, of Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France, and colleagues, a high proportion of patients with metastatic melanoma achieving a complete response on pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in the phase Ib KEYNOTE-001 trial maintained...
Updated efficacy and safety data from the international, multicenter JAVELIN Merkel 200 trial of avelumab (Bavencio) in patients with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma were presented by Nghiem et al at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 9507). 2-Year Follow-up At the 2-year follow-up update of ...
Paolo A. Ascierto, MD, of the Istituto Nazionale Tumori–Fondazione Pascale, discusses phase III study findings on encorafenib plus binimetinib vs vemurafenib or encorafenib in BRAF-mutant melanoma (Abstract 9504).
Emily S. Ruiz, MD, MPH, of Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, discusses new developments in the treatment of squamous cell skin cancer and what she sees on the therapeutic horizon (Abstracts e18703, 9519, and 9577).
Danny Rischin, MD, of Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, discusses phase II study findings on cemiplimab, a human monoclonal anti–PD-1 antibody, in patients with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (Abstract 9519).
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Conforti et al found a significant difference in overall survival benefit favoring male vs female patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for advanced cancers. Study Details The study involved database...
“In the era of improved systemic therapy, checkpoint blockade for metastatic melanoma and the ability to surgically resect all disease after treatment are associated with survival of 75%, better than what has been previously reported,” Danielle M. Bello, MD, said in summarizing study results during ...
In a study reported in JAMA Dermatology, Wang et al found that risk of nodal metastasis was higher for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lip with vermilion vs cutaneous location. Disease-specific and overall survival were similar for the two locations. Study Details The retrospective ...
Dr. Thompson is Professor of Melanoma and Surgical Oncology, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, and Senior Surgeon, Melanoma Institute Australia, Sydney. IN THE MID-1990s, the surgical management of patients presenting with primary cutaneous melanomas changed forever when the...
AS REPORTED IN the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Sandra L. Wong, MD, of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and colleagues, ASCO and the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) have issued an update to the ASCO/SSO clinical practice guideline on sentinel lymph node biopsy and management of regional...
THE INFORMATION contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies focused on nonmelanoma skin cancers—basal cell carcinoma; merkel cell carcinoma; cutaneous lymphoma; and squamous cell carcinoma. These studies are investigating brachytherapy; topical...
FOUR RANDOMIZED trials have shown improvements in recurrence-free survival in patients with high-risk melanoma with the administration of adjuvant therapy over the past 3 years, noted formal discussant of the EORTC 1325/KEYNOTE-054 trial, Antoni Ribas, MD, Director of the Tumor Immunology Program...
ADJUVANT THERAPY with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) significantly prolonged recurrence-free survival compared with placebo for patients with resected high-risk stage III melanoma, according to the results of the EORTC 1325/KEYNOTE-054 trial.1 Patients who received pembrolizumab had a 43% reduction in...
In a study reported in Annals of Oncology, Andersen et al found that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes isolated from metastatic melanoma lesions in patients with disease progression after checkpoint inhibitor therapy remain functional. Moreover, they concluded these tumor-infiltrating...
On April 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for priority review the biologics license application (BLA) for cemiplimab for the treatment of patients with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma or patients with locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma who...
On April 30, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved dabrafenib (Tafinlar) in combination with trametinib (Mekinist) for the adjuvant treatment of patients with melanoma with BRAF V600E or V600K mutations, as detected by an FDA-approved test, and lymph node involvement following...
Desmoplastic melanoma is a rare subtype of melanoma that is commonly found on sun-exposed areas, such as the head and neck, and usually seen in older patients. Treatment is difficult, as these tumors are often resistant to chemotherapy and lack actionable mutations commonly found in other types of...
A study by Mofidi et al in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene has estimated the total and per-case costs of newly diagnosed nonmelanoma skin cancers in Canada in 2011 caused by workplace sun exposure. Using a range of secondary sources, including official government records and...
On December 20, 2017, nivolumab (Opdivo) was granted regular approval for adjuvant treatment of patients with melanoma with lymph node involvement or metastatic disease who have undergone complete resection.1,2 Nivolumab was previously approved for the treatment of patients with unresectable or...
The Melanoma Research Alliance has announced funding for research grants totaling more than $11 million. The awards will fund researchers at 23 institutions across the United States, Australia, and Belgium to conduct research to advance the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of melanoma. This...
Skin cancer survivors know firsthand that the disease is most treatable when detected early, so they’re more likely to be vigilant about skin exams—and new research shows that such vigilance pays off. After studying more than 900 cases of melanoma reported through the Health...
On April 30, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) in combination for the adjuvant treatment of patients with melanoma with BRAF V600E or V600K mutations (as detected by an FDA-approved test) and involvement of...
Although literature demonstrates a decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease in individuals with various cancers—including squamous cell cancers (SCC) and basal cell cancers (BCC)—there is a paucity of literature to substantiate an association between malignant melanoma and...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Alexander N. Shoushtari, MD, of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and colleagues, a single-center experience has shown a very high rate of clinically significant immune-related adverse events with nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) for advanced...
The final overall survival analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-006 trial showed maintained superiority of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) vs ipilimumab (Yervoy) in advanced melanoma. The results were reported by Jacob Schachter, MD, of the Ella Lemelbaum Institute for Melanoma, Sheba Medical Center, Tel...
Actinic keratoses may show extension down into follicles, not only in cases with full-thickness epidermal atypia (bowenoid actinic keratosis), but also in cases with atypia limited to the epidermal basalis. Previous studies have demonstrated that, in bowenoid actinic keratosis, follicular...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Herr et al found that patients with specific types of primary lymphoid neoplasms were at increased risk of second primary cutaneous melanoma, with the reciprocal association also being observed. Occurrence of second primary...
As reported at the 2018 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting (Abstract CT001) and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Eggermont et al, the phase III EORTC 1325/KEYNOTE 054 trial has shown that adjuvant pembrolizumab (Keytruda) significantly prolonged recurrence-free...
A combination of CMP-001, an intratumoral Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) agonist, and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was well tolerated and had clinical activity in patients with metastatic melanoma resistant to programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) checkpoint inhibition, according to preliminary data...
On April 6, an external data monitoring committee commented on results from the phase III ECHO-301/KEYNOTE-252 trial of the investigational IDO1 inhibitor epacadostat plus pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. The committee determined that the study did not...
In an Australian phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Long et al found that the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab alone showed intracranial activity in patients with melanoma brain metastases. Study Details In the open-label trial, 76 evaluable...
A study by Eberl et al in Cancer Cell has pinpointed a mechanism that controls how basal cell cancers respond to treatment and offers new ideas for controlling this disease. Basal cell carcinomas are incredibly common—somewhere between 1 million to 3 million diagnosed each year—and...