Melanoma & Skin Cancer

Neil D. Gross, MD, FACS, discusses the current deficits in the treatment of patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in the curative setting and avenues for continued research generated by the primary analysis of the phase 2 trial examining neoadjuvant cemiplimab in this population.

Kara M. Schenk, MD, discusses the effect of nivolumab plus relatlimab in advanced basal cell carcinoma.

The combination of encorafenib and binimetinib led to sustained improvements in progression-free survival and overall survival, without new safety signals in patients with BRAF V600–mutant melanoma, according to 5-year follow-up of the phase 3 COLUMBUS trial.

Immunotherapy and targeted therapy combinations containing BRAF and MEK inhibitors have carved out roles in different settings of melanoma, which has given clinicians different options for treatment sequencing.

Dr Hanna comments on updated efficacy and safety data of the EMPOWER-CSCC-1 trial that was recently discussed at the annual ESMO and ASCO 2022 meetings.

Glenn J Hanna, MD, provides a brief overview of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), and discusses the currently available treatment options for patients with advanced cSCC.

Neil D. Gross, MD, FACS, discusses the investigation of cemiplimab in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

Adjuvant treatment with nivolumab resulted in a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in recurrence-free survival over placebo in patients with completely resected stage IIB or IIC melanoma.

An overview of treatment options for patients for with cSCC, focusing on the neoadjuvant setting.

Dr Khushalani defines cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), reviews the risk factors associated, and explains the staging system for patients diagnosed with cSCC.

Jeff Yorio, MD, discusses treatment combinations in BRAF-mutated melanoma.

Jeff Yorio, MD, discussed the decision-making process for treating patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma, the use of immunotherapy in melanoma, and the management of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma.

Findings from the DREAMseq trial indicate that nivolumab plus ipilimumab should be administered prior to the combination of a BRAF and MEK inhibitor in patients with advanced BRAF-mutant melanoma.

A biologics license application seeking the approval of a reformulation of denileukin diftitox for use as a potential therapeutic option in patients with persistent or recurrent cutaneous T-cell lymphoma has been submitted to the FDA.

The FDA has granted a fast track designation to KIN-2787 for use as a potential therapeutic option in patients with BRAF class II or III alteration–positive and/or NRAS mutation–positive, metastatic or unresectable, stage IIB to IV malignant melanoma.

The combination of fianlimab and cemiplimab demonstrated clinically meaningful activity in patients with advanced melanoma who were naïve to anti–PD-1/PD-L1 therapy.

The European Commission has approved the fixed-dose combination of relatlimab plus nivolumab for use in the frontline treatment of select patients with advanced or metastatic melanoma and a PD-L1 expression of less than 1% on tumor cells.

Adjuvant nivolumab monotherapy elicited a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in recurrence-free survival compared with placebo for patients with completely resected stage IIB/C melanoma.

Cemiplimab produced pathologic complete responses as a neoadjuvant treatment in more than half of patients with resectable, stage II to IV cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

Compared with adjuvant pembrolizumab alone, the addition of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab significantly improved event-free survival outcomes for patients with stage III-IV melanoma with a hazard ratio of 0.58.

The investigational type II RAF inhibitor naporafenib exhibited favorable efficacy with a tolerable safety profile in combination with rineterkib, trametinib, or ribociclib in patients with previously treated, unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

Neoadjuvant talimogene laherparepvec plus surgery provided sustained, durable improvements in efficacy vs surgery alone in patients with resectable stage IIIB to IVM1a melanoma.

A tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy manufactured at various centers in the Netherlands Cancer Institute elicited a 50% reduction in the risk of progression or death vs ipilimumab in patients with stage IIIC/IV unresectable, treatment-refractory melanoma.

Immunotherapy in the form of ipilimumab plus nivolumab followed by the targeted therapy combination encorafenib plus binimetinib elicited an overall survival benefit in patients with untreated BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma, according to findings from the phase 2 SECOMBIT trial.

A rolling biologics license application has been submitted to the FDA seeking the approval of lifileucel in patients with advanced melanoma who progressed on or after previous anti–PD-1/PD-L1 therapy, and if BRAF mutation positive, also previous BRAF or BRAF/MEK inhibitor therapy.

The addition of talimogene laherparepvec to pembrolizumab did not significantly improve progression-free survival or overall survival over pembrolizumab alone in patients with advanced melanoma.

The addition of atezolizumab to vemurafenib and cobimetinib produced promising intracranial activity in patients with BRAF V600–mutated advanced melanoma and central nervous system metastases.

Institutional Perspectives in Cancer: Melanoma, Chaired by Jeffrey Yorio, MD

Georgina V. Long, BSc, PhD, MBBS, FRACP, discusses evaluating pembrolizumab vs placebo in stage IIB or IIC melanoma.

Successful, established immunotherapies that have been approved for use in the metastatic setting are rapidly moving forward into the adjuvant and neoadjuvant settings, and novel agents are emerging in later lines.