Immunotherapy in Melanoma | Specialty

The OncLive Immunotherapy in Melanoma condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and expert insights on available and investigational immunotherapies in melanoma and other skin cancers. This page features news articles, interviews in written and video format, and podcasts that focus on updates with checkpoint inhibitors and the ongoing research with this type of treatment.

Ribas Builds Foundation for Immunotherapy Success

July 7th 2016

Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, whose work has helped guide and define the growing array of anticancer immunotherapy drugs, was honored in the Melanoma category with a 2015 Giants of Cancer Care® award, a program that the Intellisphere® Oncology Specialty Group launched to honor leaders in the field.

FDA Approval Sought for Binimetinib in NRAS-Mutant Melanoma

July 1st 2016

A new drug application has been submitted for binimetinib as a potential treatment for patients with advanced NRAS-mutant metastatic melanoma.

Lead NEMO Author Shares Excitement for Binimetinib in NRAS-Mutant Melanoma

June 30th 2016

Reinhard Georg Dummer, MD, shares the encouraging phase III findings from the NEMO trial and how it shakes up the treatment paradigm for patients with NRAS-mutated melanoma.

Dr. Andtbacka on Optimal Use of T-VEC in Melanoma

June 27th 2016

Robert Andtbacka, MD, associate professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine, discusses the optimal use of talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) in patients with melanoma.

Hedgehog Agents Advance Basal Cell Carcinoma Care, New Approaches Also Explored

June 27th 2016

Morganna Freeman, DO, explains the impact of hedgehog inhibitors in basal cell carcinoma, the ideal patient to receive them, and emerging agents on the horizon for treatment of the disease.

Expert Highlights Treatment Options for Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma

June 25th 2016

Ryan J. Sullivan, MD, discusses which patients are at risk for advanced basal cell carcinoma, current standard therapies, and options for those who relapse after treatment with hedgehog/smoothened inhibitors.

Dr. Wolchok on Updated CheckMate-067 Results for Melanoma

June 22nd 2016

Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD, chief, Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service, Department of Medicine and Ludwig Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the updated findings from the CheckMate-067 trial, which explored nivolumab (Opdivo) combined with ipilimumab (Yervoy) in treatment-naive patients with advanced melanoma.

Emerging Immunotherapy Target in Spotlight at Wistar

June 22nd 2016

Amid growing evidence of their importance in the immune system, myeloid-derived suppressor cells are gaining traction as a target for anticancer therapies.

NICE Approves Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Combo for Melanoma

June 21st 2016

NICE has approved the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab for patients with metastatic melanoma, which allows the combination to be used within NHS.

Probing the Melanoma Genome Reveals New Targets and Challenges

June 17th 2016

Next-generation sequencing technology is providing greater insight and has uncovered new and unexpected players in melanoma.

Dr. Jeffrey Weber on CheckMate-064 Trial for Advanced Melanoma

June 13th 2016

Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, deputy director and co-director of the Melanoma Program, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses the design and results of the CheckMate-064 trial, which examined outcomes in patients who received nivolumab (Opdivo) given sequentially with ipilimumab (Yervoy) in patients with advanced melanoma.

T-VEC/Pembrolizumab Combo Shows Early Promise in Advanced Melanoma

June 10th 2016

The combination of the oncolytic virus talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) demonstrated evidence of clinical benefit, as well as an acceptable safety profile, in patients with advanced melanoma.

Expert Addresses Sequencing and Resistance With Immunotherapy in Melanoma

June 10th 2016

Keith T. Flaherty, MD, discusses choosing between immunotherapy and targeted therapy in the frontline setting for patients with BRAF-mutated melanoma.

Avelumab Highly Effective in Metastatic Merkel Cell Carcinoma

June 8th 2016

The PD-L1 inhibitor avelumab demonstrated durable responses and promising early survival data for patients with pretreated metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma.

Yardena Samuels on RASA2 as Prognostic Biomarker in Melanoma

June 7th 2016

Yardena Samuels, PhD, Tenured Associate Professor, Department of Moleular Cell Biology, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, discuses her lab’s discovery of a potential prognostic biomarker in cutaneous sporadic melanoma.

Long-Term Data Deepen Dabrafenib/Trametinib Benefit in Melanoma

June 7th 2016

The combination of dabrafenib and trametinib continued to demonstrate impressive overall survival and progression-free survival findings for patients with BRAF-mutant metastatic melanoma in 3-year follow-up data from the phase III COMBI-d study.

Dr. Dummer on NEMO Trial for NRAS-Mutant Melanoma

June 7th 2016

Reinhard Dummer, MD, professor, Department of Dermatology, University of Zurich Hospital, discusses the results of the phase III NEMO trial, which compared the efficacy of binimetinib with dacarbazine in patients with NRAS-mutant metastatic melanoma.

Long-Term Follow-up Sustains Frontline Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Benefit in Melanoma

June 7th 2016

At a minimum follow-up of 18 months, the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab reduced the risk of disease progression by 58% compared with ipilimumab alone, and single-agent nivolumab lowered the risk of progression by 45% versus ipilimumab monotherapy in patients with advanced melanoma.

Binimetinib Shows Rare PFS Benefit in NRAS-Mutant Melanoma

June 7th 2016

The MEK inhibitor binimetinib reduced the risk of progression or death by 38% compared with dacarbazine in patients with NRAS-mutant metastatic melanoma.

Prognostic Factors Link to Longer OS With MEK/BRAF Combo in Melanoma

June 2nd 2016

A long-term analysis has shown that approximately one-fifth of patients with BRAF V600-mutant melanoma who were treated with the combination of dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) remained progression-free after 3 years, suggesting a plateau of the survival curve.