Melanoma & Skin Cancer

As immunotherapy agents enter into greater clinical use in oncology, clinicians are learning to manage immune-related adverse events related to the mechanism of action of these new drugs.

Immunotherapies and targeted therapies have led to significant strides in the treatment of patients with melanoma. However, determining which therapies are best for which patients and how to treat patients who don't respond or stop responding to these new therapies is still a challenge. For further insight on optimizing the recent treatment breakthroughs in melanoma, OncLive spoke with Alan Bryce, MD, medical director of the Genomic Oncology Clinic at Mayo Clinic.

Kevin B. Kim, MD, medical oncology, California Pacific Medical Center, discusses T-VEC as a treatment option for melanoma.

Omid Hamid, MD, chief, Translational Research and Immunotherapy, director, Melanoma Therapeutics, The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, discusses the possibility of using biomarkers to select immunotherapy as a treatment option for patients with melanoma.

The FDA has assigned a priority review designation to the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab as a treatment for previously untreated patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

In a combined decision, members of the FDA's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee and Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee voted 22-1 to recommend approval of the oncolytic immunotherapy talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) as a treatment for patients with advanced melanoma.

OncLive sat down with F. Stephen Hodi, director, Melanoma Center, director, Center for Immuno-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, to gain further insight into combination and sequencing strategies for patients with melanoma.

Frontline immunotherapy with nivolumab plus ipilimumab delayed disease progression by 60% compared with ipilimumab alone in patients with advanced melanoma.

F. Stephen Hodi, MD, discusses the results of a trial presented at the 2015 AACR Annual Meeting.

Pembrolizumab elicited significantly better outcomes compared with ipilimumab in a randomized phase III trial of patients with advanced melanoma.

IMCgp100 yielded long-lasting responses in patients with advanced melanoma, according to results from a 17-patient expansion cohort presented at the 2015 AACR Annual Meeting.

In an interview with OncLive, Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, discussed combinations currently in development for patients with advanced metastatic melanoma, and key considerations in employing the new therapies in clinical practice.

Patricia M. LoRusso, DO, Associate Director of Innovative Medicine, Yale Cancer Center, discusses the Dream Team Melanoma trial, which is investigating using personalized medicine to treat non-V600E melanoma subtypes.

Yale University has launched a multicenter clinical trial, sponsored by Stand Up to Cancer and Melanoma Research Alliance, that will apply the latest in personalized medicine technology to treat metastatic melanoma.

Mario Sznol, MD, professor of medicine (medical oncology), clinical research program leader, Melanoma Program, Yale Cancer Center, discusses how to manage toxicities in treatment of melanoma.

Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD, played an important role in the development of ipilimumab, the first drug to target an immune checkpoint as an anticancer strategy. He was honored in the Melanoma category with a 2014 Giants of Cancer Care® award.

Immunotherapy advances are among the emerging treatment approaches that make it an exciting time for patients with melanoma and their physicians.

One in five Medicare patients with melanoma waits more than 1.5 months after diagnosis to undergo surgery.