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.

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.

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.