Melanoma

Sancy Leachman, MD, PhD, discusses her outreach effort titled “War on Melanoma” at the 16th International Congress of the Society for Melanoma Research.

Poulikos Poulikakos, PhD, discussed combining targeted therapy and immunotherapy for the  treatment of patients with melanoma at the 16th International Congress of the Society for Melanoma Research.

Domenico Mallardo, MD, Istituto Nazionale Tumori "Fondazione Pascale" in Naples, discusses results from his trial – designed to evaluate anti-CTLA4 agents in patients with melanoma who relapsed on treatment with ipilimumab (Yervoy), which was presented at the 34th Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2019).

BRAF and MEK inhibitors appear to have clinical activity in patients with metastatic melanoma with rare BRAF mutations.

Researchers report on the best pembrolizumab protocol for advanced melanoma. 

A pooled analysis included extended-survival data from COMBI-d and COMBI-v trials, both of which included treatment-naïve patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma who were randomized to receive either dabrafenib plus trametinib or BRAF inhibitor monotherapy.

The new recommendations will help standardize neoadjuvant clinical trial methodology and develop a path for regulatory review and approval of neoadjuvant therapies in melanoma.

Melanoma of the skin is the 19th most common malignant neoplasm worldwide, with 287,723 new cases estimated for 2018 and metastatic melanoma accounting for 4% of all new cases. In recent years, the prognosis of this stage has undergone a dramatic transformation with the advent of immunotherapy and BRAF/MEK targeted therapy.

Cancer Network spoke with Anna Pavlick, MD, of NYU Langone Health, on the results of a phase II study of poly-ICLC matured dendritic cells for NY-ESO-1 and Mean-A peptide vaccination compared with Montanide.

Cancer Network spoke with Allison Betof Warner, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, about long-term outcomes and responses to retreatment in patients with melanoma receiving anti-PD1 therapy.

Cancer Network spoke with Paul B. Chapman, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center about strategies and research surrounding optimized targeted therapy in melanoma.

Cancer Network spoke with Hussein Abdul-Hassan Tawbi, MD, PhD, on the results of a phase II study of oral azacitidine in combination with pembrolizumab in metastatic melanoma.

Cancer Network spoke with Anna Pavlick, MD, of NYU's Perlmutter Cancer Center, regarding whether there is one correct answer to front-line therapy for the treatment of advanced melanoma.

Cancer Network spoke with Thomas Gajewski, MD, PhD, of the University of Chicago Medical Center, about analyzing the tumor microenvironment to guide immunotherapy in melanoma.

Cancer Network spoke with Janice M. Mehnert, MD, of Rutgers Cancer Institute, about the use of immunotherapy vs BRAF/MEK inhibitors in the adjuvant setting for melanoma.

Cancer Network spoke with Ryan J. Sullivan, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, about the debate between immunotherapy sequencing vs targeted therapy for melanoma.

Cancer Network spoke with Ahmad Tarhini, MD, PhD, about the results of the phase III United States Intergroup E1609 trial, presented at ASCO 2019.

The results of the phase II trial examining combination immunotherapy were presented during the ASCO 2019 meeting.

Findings from a pooled analysis of two phase III trials, COMBI-d and COMBI-v, centered on outcomes with first-line dabrafenib plus trametinib vs either agent alone.

Data from the largest randomized neoadjuvant trial in resectable stage IIIB–IVM1a melanoma to date were presented at ASCO 2019.

The investigators looked at whether whole-brain radiotherapy improved outcomes in patients with melanoma brain metastasis.

COMBI-i tested the anti–PD-1 antibody spartalizumab in combination with dabrafenib and trametinib in previously untreated patients with advanced BRAF V600–mutant melanoma.

The updated survival results from the COLUMBUS trial represent a promising new treatment option for patients with BRAF V600–mutant melanoma.

A phase III study comparing the efficacy and safety of nivolumab plus an experimental interleukin-2–based drug vs nivolumab alone in patients with metastatic melanoma is now enrolling patients.

Researchers tested standard-dose pembrolizumab plus ipilimumab at 50-mg or 100-mg doses in patients with previously untreated advanced melanoma.

Researchers tested a combination regimen of bevacizumab with carboplatin and paclitaxel as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced mucosal melanoma.

The phase III CheckMate 067 study looked at patient-reported quality-of-life outcomes in patients with advanced melanoma undergoing immunotherapy treatment.

Investigators are now enrolling patients for a phase III trial, KEYNOTE-716, to assess the efficacy and safety of adjuvant pembrolizumab in adult and pediatric patients with surgically resected high-risk stage II melanoma.

Investigators are now enrolling for a phase III trial testing the experimental immunotherapy tilsotolimod plus ipilimumab in patients with advanced melanoma who have progressed on anti–PD-1 therapy.

A recent study evaluated whether longstanding assumptions that thin nodular melanomas are less aggressive than thicker ones are accurate.