Vernon K. Sondak, MD, chair of the Department of Cutaneous Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the use of ipilimumab in the adjuvant setting for patients with melanoma.

Currently, there are a number of studies that are looking at ipilimumab in the adjuvant setting in stage III melanoma. Sondak says that the results of some of these studies are not yet available, but there have been a fair amount of toxicity when ipilimumab is given at the higher dose (10 mg/kg).

Sondak believes that ipilimumab should not be used in the adjuvant setting outside of a clinical study.

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Dr. Sondak on Ipilimumab in Melanoma

Vernon K. Sondak, MD, chair of the Department of Cutaneous Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, talks about personalized medicine in the treatment of patients with melanoma.

Sondak says physicians have embraced the idea of personalized medicine when treating patients with melanoma. Most treatment decisions are now individualized for almost every patient with melanoma along the disease spectrum.

Personalized medicine is especially important when treating patients with late-stage disease, Sondak believes. Moreover, personalized medicine in melanoma is more than just checking for gene mutations and administering targeted agents, particulalry since surgery and immunotherapy is often used before administering targeted therapies. As a result, many factors must be considered, in addition to mutation status, before making a personalized decision about what treatment to use for patients with advanced melanoma, Sondak believes.

Vernon K. Sondak, MD, chair of the Department of Cutaneous Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, talks about personalized medicine when treating patients with melanoma.

Vernon K. Sondak, MD

Articles

Dr. Sondak on Ipilimumab in Melanoma

Dr. Sondak on Personalizing the Treatment of Melanoma