Skin Cancer & Melanoma

Developed initially for the treatment of malignant melanoma, lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy have recently been introduced into the treatment of early breast cancer. In breast cancer patients, harvested

NEW ORLEANS--Increasing levels of melanoma-inhibiting activity (MIA) protein indicate increasing disease activity in melanoma patients, according to research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting.

BUFFALO, NY--Early studies comparing the combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy with traditional chemotherapy alone suggest that the combination may improve immune responses in patients with metastatic melanoma, said Thomas Olencki, DO, Department of Hematology/Medical Oncology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

In the next 5 to 10 years, we may have the answer to the question of whether vaccines can fulfill their promise to become an effective treatment for melanoma, predict Brian J. Czerniecki, md, PhD, and Isabelle Bedrosian, md, in the latest issue of The Melanoma Letter, a publication of The Skin Cancer Foundation. These researchers are experimenting with a new kind of vaccine to combat disseminated melanoma.

Skin cancer is the most common malignancy in the United States, with approximately 1 million cases being diagnosed in 1997.[1] Of these cases, more than 40,000 will be classified as malignant melanoma, the most serious and aggressive form of skin cancer.[1] The worldwide incidence of melanoma is increasing more rapidly than any other form of cancer, and has shown an increase of about 4% per year in the United States.[1,2]

BETHESDA, Md-Proleukin (al-desleukin, Chiron) has won the backing of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) for a new indication. The panel recommended that the FDA approve the recombinant human inter-leukin-2 as “indicated for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic melanoma.” The FDA approved Proleukin for use in renal cell carcinoma in 1992.

Malignant diseases of the vulva account for an estimated 3% to 5% of gynecologic neoplasia. The pathologic variants are many (Table 1). Squamous cell cancers account for 85% to 90% of these neoplasms. Melanoma, Bartholin gland cancer, Paget’s disease, and the various sarcomas are the other principal neoplasms. The preinvasive forms of the squamous cancer tend to occur in younger women and may be associated with in situ lesions of the cervix, vagina, perineum, and anus.

ORLANDO-A German university study contradicts the belief commonly held by many clinical researchers that malignant melanoma is not sensitive to radiation therapy. Dr. M. Heinrich Seegenschmiedt, of the University of Erlangen-Nurnberg, presented the findings at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO).

PARIS-At the University of Heidelberg, Dr. Ulrich Keilholz and his colleagues are exploring the molecular determinants of prognosis in melanoma patients. A crucial question is whether patients with no evidence of disease after treatment are actually disease free.

SAN FRANCISCO-The use of interleukin-2 (IL-2, Proleukin) in hematologic malignancies is much less advanced than similar work in metastatic melanoma or renal cell carcinoma.

SAN FRANCISCO-About 8,000 people will die of malignant melanoma in the United States this year, victims of a mortality rate approaching 100% in recurrent disease. Sewa S. Legha, MD, painted this grim picture at the Proleukin First International Congress, sponsored by Chiron. Traditional chemotherapy produces response rates up to 40%, but complete remissions are rare, even with the most aggressive combination therapies.

SAN FRANCISCO-Investigations into the cellular basis of the anticancer activity of recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2, Proleukin) may lead to immunization against some cancers. That was the prospect suggested by Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, head of the NCI’s Surgery Branch and professor of surgery at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md.

VIENNA-Individually tailored vaccines made by transducing a patient’s own melanoma cells with the gene for GM-CSF have proven feasible and safe in a study conducted at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam.

The Society of Surgical Oncology surgical practice guidelines focus on the signs and symptoms of primary cancer, timely evaluation of the symptomatic patient, appropriate preoperative evaluation for extent of disease, and role of the surgeon in

BETHESDA, Md--Delta-amino-levulinic acid (ALA), a compound found in cells throughout the body, holds potential as an active drug in photodynamic therapy and could provide an alternative to surgery for patients with basal and squamous cell carcinomas, R. Rox Anderson, MD, said at the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation conference.

BETHESDA, Md--Increased numbers of small nevi, large nondysplastic nevi, and clinically dysplastic nevi strongly increase a person's risk of developing melanoma--a finding with major preventive implications, according to investigators in a large, case-control study.

ASCO--Injections of an irradiated autologous melanoma vaccine genetically engineered to secrete GM-CSF proved safe and capable of eliciting an antitumor response in patients with advanced tumor burden, Robert Soiffer, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Massachusetts General Hospital, said at an ASCO scientific session.

NEW YORK--Cancer Care, Inc. has introduced Crossing Bridges, a national program to provide medically accurate information and ongoing emotional support to malignant melanoma patients receiving adjuvant therapy with interferon alfa-2b (Intron A).

CHICAGO--Although interferon-alfa 2b (Intron A) has been used for some time to treat malignant melanoma patients at high risk for relapse after surgery, little has been known about the way in which it works.

HOUSTON--Just in time for another of Texas' legendary red-hot summers, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is receiving national and local acclaim for a skin cancer prevention program aimed at fourth- and fifth-grade students.

NEW YORK--The Cancer Research Institute and Cancer Care, Inc. have announced The Melanoma Initiative, a program to support public awareness of melanoma, resources for melanoma patients, and clinical research. The Initiative is funded by an unrestricted educational grant from Schering-Plough Corporation.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla--Once primary melanoma is excised, choosing among adjuvant treatment options is a difficult decision, Daniel G. Coit, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, said at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) annual meeting. Dr. Coit presented the network's preliminary guidelines for melanoma, along with John A. Thompson, MD, of the University of Washington, Seattle.

A human cancer vaccine has, for the first time, been observed to promote the invasion of cancerous tissues by specific families of white blood cells that are believed to have a cancer-fighting effect.

A new gene, designated KiSS-1, has been isolated from cells of malignant melanoma, in which metastatic potential was suppressed by the introduction of normal human chromosome 6. According to the research report in the December 4th

A national study underway at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) will determine whether breast cancer patients can benefit from a biopsy procedure that has been successfully used for skin cancer patients. Patients with melanoma, the most serious kind of skin cancer, have benefited from an advance that has reduced the pain and complications of surgery performed to ascertain whether their cancer has spread.