Skin Cancer

Combined treatment of BRAFV600-mutated melanoma with the MEK inhibitor cobimetinib and the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib was safe and tolerable, according to the results of a phase Ib study.

Dr. Atkins offers his perspective on the “race” between the top two anti-PD1 drugs (Merck’s MK-3475 and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s nivolumab), and weighs in on where a new agent, pidilizumab, fits into the picture.

Long-term results from a phase I study demonstrate that concurrent treatment with ipilimumab and nivolumab led to an unprecedented improvement in survival for patients with advanced melanoma.

The story of how the targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and combinations of these therapies have been developed for use in patients with advanced melanoma holds a number of important lessons for the development of agents for use in other tumor types.

Multiple abstracts on melanoma and skin cancer were reviewed at the ASCO Annual Meeting, with a focus on new treatment approaches in non-melanoma skin cancers, particularly basal cell carcinoma and Merkel cell carcinoma.

The results of a prospective study showed that the risk of developing melanoma is higher for white women with a history of strong sun exposure during childhood and adolescence, rather than adulthood.

The FDA has granted Merck’s anti-PD1 antibody MK-3475 a priority review designation for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma in patients who have previously been treated with ipilimumab.

New treatment options for melanoma continue to be developed, especially in the areas of immunotherapies and targeted agents. Oncology nurses need to be knowledgeable about the various therapies being used, indication for use, and the management of adverse events.

Oncolytic viruses are receiving more attention these days as a form of cancer treatment, and have shown promise in clinical trials. These viruses are thought not only to cause direct destruction of the tumor cells, but also to stimulate a patient's immune response.

Results of a preplanned interim analysis of the AVAST-M trial indicate that bevacizumab may have a beneficial effect on disease-free survival in patients with melanoma at high risk for recurrence.

Men who used sildenafil (Viagra) had an 84% increased risk for developing melanoma, even after adjusting for known risk factors, according to the results of a prospective study.

In a recent study, survivors of either an invasive or in situ melanoma had about five times the risk for a second primary melanoma compared with the general population.

The anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1) drug nivolumab may increase overall survival in patients with advanced melanoma with a safe and acceptable long-term safety profile, according to the results of a recent study.

The completion of a short web-based course improved the ability of primary care physicians to diagnose and manage benign and malignant skin cancer, according to the results of a new study.

Metastatic melanoma patients treated with a dabrafenib/trametinib combination experienced a 3.6-month increase in overall survival compared with patients treated with dabrafenib alone. The results were not statistically significant, partly due to the crossover design of the trial.

Using a novel combination, a new study suggests another way to inhibit the hedgehog signaling pathway to prevent or delay resistance to vismodegib in patients with basal cell carcinoma.

A new study finds cutaneous human papillomavirus infection can increase the risk of squamous-cell carcinoma, a nonmelanoma skin cancer.

Researchers have shown that patients who use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen are less likely to develop three types of skin cancer.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of vismodegib (Erivedge), for the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer, for patients who are not eligible for surgery or radiation, and for metastatic disease.

Using in vitro techniques and mouse models, scientists at the University of Chicago Department of Medicine and colleagues have demonstrated that downregulation of PTEN in epidermal keratinocytes predisposes skin to ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced tumorigenesis.

Metastatic melanoma maintains a growing presence around the world, and a steady disregard for treatment efforts. But two novel drugs presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, on Sunday, suggest that medicine might finally be ready to fight back against the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Scientists at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research have identified that squamous cell carcinomas can originate from hair follicle stem cells.

Study pinpoints factors that put post-transplant patients at risk for non-melanoma skin cancers.

Concept and photographs:The Skin Cancer Foundation, www.skincancer.org

Prepared by The Skin Cancer Foundation, www.skincancer.org,and the American Academy of Dermatology

The imaging technique has the potential to measure the extent and depth of skin lesions.

A virus discovered last year in a rare form of skin cancer has also been found in people with the second most common form of skin cancer among Americans, according to researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. Their findings were published online June 25, 2009, by the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

Melanoma affects persons of all ages, causing more years of lost life than any other cancer except leukemia.[1] The American Cancer Society estimates that about 68,720 new melanomas will be diagnosed in the US in 2009, with more than 8,650 deaths, and an estimated lifetime risk of 1 in 50 for whites, 1 in 200 for Hispanics, and 1 in 1,000 for blacks.[2]