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.

Pembrolizumab 3-Year Survival Rate Hits 40% in Melanoma

May 19th 2016

Forty percent of patients with advanced melanoma who started taking pembrolizumab during the clinical trial that led to its initial approval were still alive after 3 years, with many responders in remission even after stopping treatment.

Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Combo Approved in Europe for Advanced Melanoma

May 12th 2016

The European Commission has approved the combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab as a treatment for patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma regardless of BRAF status.

Ribas Shares Emerging Advances With Immunotherapy in Melanoma

May 10th 2016

Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, shares exciting clinical trial results of immunotherapy agents in patients with melanoma, as well as what the future holds for the field.

Hedgehog Inhibitors Transform Treatment of Advanced Basal Cell Carcinoma

May 9th 2016

Desiree Ratner, MD, discusses what oncologists should know about hedgehog inhibitors in advanced basal cell carcinoma and what the future holds for these agents.

Dr. Sharpless on Managing Toxicities With Nivolumab and Ipilimumab in Melanoma

May 5th 2016

Norman E. Sharpless, MD, professor of Medicine and Genetics, chair, the University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC School of Medicine, discusses how oncologists can best manage toxicities associated with the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) for the treatment of patients with melanoma.

Combining Vismodegib With Radiation May Benefit Patients With Basal Cell Carcinoma

May 2nd 2016

Chris Barker, MD, discusses a study investigating radiation therapy plus the hedgehog pathway inhibitor vismodegib (Erivedge) in patients with locally advanced basal cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Expert Discusses Latest Findings With Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Combo in Melanoma

April 29th 2016

Patrick Ott, MD, PhD, discusses toxicity management and patient selection considerations required with the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo)/ipilimumab (Yervoy), and its role in BRAF-mutant melanoma.

Dr. Ribas on Triplet Regimens in Melanoma

April 29th 2016

Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, professor of Hematology and Oncology and director of the Tumor Immunology Program Area at UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses triplet therapies for patients with melanoma and the sequencing challenges associated with the approvals of additional agents in the field.

Melanoma Combinations: Going Beyond Ipilimumab/Nivolumab

April 27th 2016

Omid Hamid, MD, outlines a selection of combinations that are on the horizon in advanced melanoma.

Dr. Postow on OS Results of CheckMate-069 Study

April 18th 2016

Michael Postow, MD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the overall survival (OS) results of the CheckMate-069 study, which investigated the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) for the treatment of patients with melanoma.

Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Combination Shows Survival Benefit in Advanced Melanoma

April 18th 2016

The combination of ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo) showed a 42% improvement in overall survival compared with ipilimumab monotherapy for patients with advanced melanoma in a 2-year assessment of the phase II CheckMate-069 trial.

Dr. Hodi on Long-Term Survival Data for Nivolumab in Melanoma

April 17th 2016

F. Stephen Hodi, MD, director of the Melanoma Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the results of the longest follow-up survival study of patients with advanced melanoma who were treated with single-agent nivolumab (Opdivo).

Nivolumab Shows Impressive Long-Term OS in Melanoma

April 17th 2016

Single-agent nivolumab demonstrated a robust 5-year overall survival rate of 34% for heavily pretreated patients with metastatic melanoma who had not received prior ipilimumab.

Study Moves T-VEC Into Neoadjuvant Melanoma Setting

April 11th 2016

Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC; Imlygic), an oncolytic viral immunotherapy approved for patients with melanoma, is being evaluated in a presurgical setting in a phase II clinical trial that may help set the stage for expanding the toolkit of neoadjuvant options for patients with the malignancy.

Dr. Atkins on Adjuvant Ipilimumab in Melanoma

April 7th 2016

Michael B. Atkins, MD, deputy director, Georgetown-Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, professor of Oncology and Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine, discusses the adjuvant use of ipilimumab (Yervoy) in patients with melanoma.

Immunotherapy Combinations Coming to the Forefront in Melanoma

April 7th 2016

PD-1/PD-L1 should be the backbone of melanoma treatment for many patients, says Jason Luke, MD, an assistant professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago Medicine.

Expert Explains Key Considerations With Immunotherapy in Melanoma

April 5th 2016

Tara C. Mitchell, MD, discusses what oncologists need to know about using immunotherapies in melanomaÃ¢â‚¬â€

FDA Approvals, New Biopsy Techniques Advance Head and Neck Melanoma Care

April 4th 2016

Carol Rossier Bradford, MD, discusses the treatment and surgical outlook for head and neck melanoma, as well as other subtypes of the disease.

PI3K/AKT Pathway Potential Target for Treating Brain Mets in Melanoma

April 4th 2016

Michael Davies, MD, discusses the biggest challenges in treating brain metastases, what is known about the connection to the PI3K/AKT pathway, and what his future plans are for research in this area.

CHMP Recommends Approval of Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Combo for Melanoma

April 1st 2016

The combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab has received a positive recommendation from the CHMP, which suggests that the treatment is likely to gain European approval for patients with advanced melanoma.