March 22nd 2023
Patients with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced Merkel cell carcinoma can now receive treatment with retifanlimab-dlwr following its accelerated approval by the FDA.
Combining Immune & Targeted Therapies in Melanoma: A Paradigm for Other Tumor Types?
June 6th 2014The 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.
Non-Melanoma Skin Cancers: Reviewed Abstracts in Basal Cell and Merkel Cell Carcinoma
June 4th 2014Multiple 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.
ONS 2014: Using Viruses to Fight Cancer
May 9th 2014Oncolytic 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.
Targeted Therapy Combo Boosts Survival for Advanced Melanoma Patients
November 20th 2013Metastatic 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.
Vismodegib Granted FDA Approval for Treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma
February 1st 2012The 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.
Role for PTEN in DNA Damage Removal and Prevention of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer
July 28th 2011Using 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.
ASCO 2011: New Hope for Metastatic Melanoma
June 6th 2011Metastatic 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.
UCLA Cancer Researchers Identify Cell Origin of Squamous Cell Carcinoma
April 27th 2011Scientists 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 Links Virus to Some Cases of Common Skin Cancer
September 11th 2009A 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.
Your Patient With Melanoma: Staging, Prognosis, and Treatment
August 5th 2009Melanoma 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]