Melanoma & Skin Cancer

Treatment with the combination of vemurafenib and cobimetinib improved overall survival by 4.9 months compared with vemurafenib alone for patients with BRAF mutation-positive advanced melanoma.

A treatment regimen of pembrolizumab plus low-dose ipilimumab was tolerable and effective for patients with advanced melanoma.

In the largest-to-date analysis of treatment-naïve metastatic melanoma patients with BRAF V600 mutations treated with dabrafenib and trametinib, researchers have found that baseline LDH levels and number of disease sites were the most significant factors affecting survival.

Two separate early phase clinical trials exploring pembrolizumab-containing immunotherapy combinations have shown objective response rates over 50% in patients with advanced melanoma.

Making real strides in melanoma care requires an understanding of BRAF resistance mechanisms.

Georgina Long, BSc, PhD, MBBS, FRACP, medical oncologist, translational researcher, Melanoma Institute Australia, The University of Sydney, discusses which patients may benefit from the combination of dabrafenib and trametinib based on several recent clinical trials.

Victoria Atkinson, MD, of Princess Alexandra Hospital and Gallipoli Medical Research Foundation, Queensland, discusses long-term data from the phase III CheckMate-066 trial.

Since the approval of the first checkpoint inhibitor, ipilimumab, several combinations and monotherapies have gained rapid approval, with continued expansion on the horizon.

The FDA has granted a full approval to the combination of dabrafenib and trametinib for patients with unresectable or metastatic BRAF-mutated melanoma.

Jason Luke, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses how inflammation in the tumor microenvironment can serve as a biomarker in melanoma.

Long-term data continue to show sustained improvements in overall survival with nivolumab alone or in combination with ipilimumab as a frontline treatment for patients with advanced melanoma.

With the FDA approval of the first oncolytic immunotherapy-talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC; Imlygic)-the stage has been set for increased research into these agents.

Michael Krauthammer, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, discusses the role of NF1 mutation in melanoma.

There were few differences in quality of life, global health, and symptom burden between patients with melanoma who were treated with nivolumab plus ipilimumab or either agent alone.

Predictive genetic signatures and novel combination strategies may be the key to improving the often dramatic responses seen with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Sancy Leachman, MD,PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Dermatology Director, Melanoma Research Program, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, discusses a new tool that oncologists can use with patients to identify melanoma recurrences.

Sheri Holmen, PhD, investigator, Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Oncological Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, the University of Utah School of Medicine, discusses understanding drivers for melanoma metastasis.

The FDA has granted a breakthrough therapy designation to avelumab as a potential treatment for patients with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma following progression on at least one prior chemotherapy regimen.

The FDA has approved the combination of vemurafenib and cobimetinib as a treatment for patients with metastatic or unresectable BRAF V600E/K mutation-positive melanoma.

Howard L. Kaufman, MD, FACS, Chief Surgical Officer, Associate Director for Clinical Science, Surgical Oncologist, Rutgers Cancer Institute, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) President, discusses the impact of the recent FDA approval of talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) for the treatment of melanoma lesions in the skin and lymph nodes.

Adding the MEK inhibitor trametinib to the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib significantly improves long-term outcomes while lowering certain adverse events associated with either agent alone for patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic melanoma.

Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, deputy director, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, co-director of its Melanoma Program and Head of Experimental Therapeutics, NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses the significance of the FDA approval of the combination of dabrafenib and trametinib for patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma who harbor a BRAF V600E or V600K mutation.

Combinations of targeted therapies continue to advance toward full regulatory approval for patients with metastatic or unresected melanoma, given the substantial benefits seen with these agents.