Skin Cancer & Melanoma

In this review, we highlight prospective data on checkpoint inhibition alone and in combination, discuss data regarding the efficacy and toxicity of combination therapy, and identify clinical scenarios that may favor treatment with combination therapy.

The FDA granted approval to the combination of dabrafenib and trametinib for the adjuvant treatment of melanoma, specifically in patients with a BRAF V600E or V600K mutation.

Melanoma patients who are married tend to present at earlier stages of the disease than those who are not married, divorced, or widowed; marital status was also associated with the likelihood of undergoing SLNB.

Treatment with the TLR9 agonist CMP-001 appeared to potentially reverse resistance to immune checkpoint inhibition in patients with metastatic melanoma.

At AACR 2018, Dr. Aung Naing of MD Anderson presented ECHO-203, the first data on epacadostat in combination with an anti–PD-L1 inhibitor.

At AACR 2018, Dr. Alexander Eggermont presented results of KEYNOTE-045/EORTC 1325-MG, in which melanoma patients with recurrence on placebo can receive pembrolizumab.

In this article, we review the published literature and evaluate secondary prevention strategies for nonmelanoma skin cancer. We also explore investigational therapies proposed for chemoprevention of nonmelanoma skin cancers.

The combination of the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib with the MEK inhibitor binimetinib yielded improved progression-free survival over vemurafenib in patients with advanced BRAF V600–mutant melanoma.

At the NCCN Annual Conference in Orlando, Dr. April Salama discussed targeted treatment options in first- and second-line therapy for advanced melanoma.

Interventions can improve sun protection behaviors, but this does not necessarily correlate with skin cancer/melanoma outcomes, according to a review for the USPSTF.

The incidence of Merkel cell carcinoma, an aggressive neuroendocrine skin cancer, has grown rapidly since the disease was first described in 1972.

Medicial oncologist and melanoma expert Dr. Jeffrey Weber discusses the role of adjuvant immunotherapy in the setting of stage III melanoma.

The combination of selumetinib with dacarbazine did not offer improved survival outcomes over placebo/dacarbazine in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma.

Here we summarize the available genomic and genetic tests for melanoma, and the level of evidence supporting each of these. We also discuss the current impact of genomic sequencing on the management of melanoma, as well as roles it may play in the near future.

Vemurafenib offered numerical improvement in disease-free survival in patients with resected melanoma, but the results did not reach statistical significance.

Circulating tumor DNA can help differentiate pseudoprogression from true progression in patients with melanoma who are treated with PD-1 inhibitors.

A retrospective review found that obesity is associated with improved progression-free and overall survival in certain patients with metastatic melanoma.

Neoadjuvant treatment with dabrafenib and trametinib offered significantly improved event-free survival over standard of care in high-risk melanoma patients.

Some patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma who receive immunotherapy and who continue therapy after progression have decreased tumor burden, and survival is improved when the therapy is continued as well, according to a new pooled analysis.

Researchers discovered that melanoma patients who received immunotherapy while taking a pan beta blocker lived longer than patients who received immunotherapy alone.

Metastatic melanoma patients treated with pembrolizumab who achieve a complete response can maintain those responses, even after discontinuation of therapy.

The FDA has granted priority review to the combination of dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) for the adjuvant treatment of patients with stage III melanoma with BRAF V600E or V600K mutations after complete disease resection.

The FDA has approved nivolumab for the adjuvant treatment of melanoma; it showed superiority compared with the standard of care in this patient population.

Use of a brief educational video increased hairdressers’ knowledge of melanoma detection and improved their self-confidence to detect skin lesions.

The gut microbiome affects the efficacy of PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade immunotherapy against melanoma and other cancers, according to a pair of recent studies.

Levels of circulating tumor DNA predicted worse outcomes including relapse and survival in patients with resected stage II/III melanoma, according to the results of a study.

Here, we review the features of mucosal melanoma that distinguish it from melanomas arising at other sites, and we highlight recent biological discoveries and emerging treatment options for this aggressive disease.

Treatment within 30 days of melanoma diagnosis was associated with improved outcomes; overall survival decreased in patients waiting longer than 90 days for surgery.

Researchers have found that melanoma patients may benefit from a holiday from MAPK inhibitors while alternative therapies stave off emergence of resistant melanoma clones.

The off-label use of the beta-blocker propranolol significantly reduced disease recurrence among patients with non-metastatic melanoma, according to the results of a prospective, non-randomized study.