Melanoma & Skin Cancer | Specialty

The OncLive Melanoma & Skin Cancer condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and expert insights on various types of skin cancers, including melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and more. This section features news articles, interviews in written and video format, and podcasts that focus on unmet needs, treatment advances, and ongoing research in melanoma and other skin cancers.

FDA Expands Approval of Lymphoseek to Breast Cancer and Melanoma

October 15th 2014

The FDA has expanded the approval of Lymphoseek (technetium Tc 99m tilmanocept) injection to include lymphatic mapping in solid tumors and sentinel lymph node (SLN) detection for breast cancer and melanoma

Crossing Therapeutic Boundaries: Molecular Profiling May Help Move Noncancer Drugs Into Oncology Settings

October 1st 2014

One of the most striking changes in our understanding of the fundamental biology of malignant disease has been the observation that "driver" molecular abnormalities may frequently cross major histologic barriers.

Dabrafenib/Trametinib Combo Improves Survival Over Vemurafenib in Phase III COMBI-v Trial

September 30th 2014

Patients with unresectable melanoma had a significant improvement in the odds of survival when treated in first line with a combination of BRAF and MEK inhibitors, as opposed to anti-BRAF monotherapy

Combination BRAF, MEK Inhibition "New Standard" for Previously Untreated BRAF-Mutant Melanoma

September 29th 2014

Inhibiting BRAF and MEK at the same time improves progression-free survival (PFS) more so than BRAF inhibition alone in patients with BRAF V600 mutation-positive metastatic melanoma, according to results of a phase III placebo-controlled trial.

Dr. Weber on Nivolumab Versus Chemotherapy in Advanced Melanoma

September 29th 2014

Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, discusses the results of a phase III study of nivolumab compared with investigator's choice chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with advanced melanoma after prior anti-CTLA-4 therapy.

Nivolumab Beats Chemotherapy as Second-Line Treatment for Advanced Melanoma

September 29th 2014

Treatment with nivolumab (Opdivo) demonstrated superior objective response rates (ORR) and longer durations of response compared with chemotherapy in a phase III trial of patients with previously treated advanced metastatic melanoma, reported Jeffrey Weber, MD, at the 2014 ESMO Congress.

Dr. Kluger on a Phase I Trial of Concurrent Nivolumab and Ipilimumab

September 28th 2014

Harriet Kluger, MD, associate professor of medicine, Yale Cancer Center, discusses the results from a phase I trial of nivolumab and ipilimumab for the treatment of patients with advanced melanoma.

FDA Grants Priority Review to Nivolumab in Melanoma

September 26th 2014

The FDA has assigned a priority review designation to the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) as a treatment for pretreated patients with advanced melanoma.

Fresh Approaches for Treating Micro-Metastatic Melanoma Explored

September 18th 2014

Approximately 85% of patients with newly diagnosed melanoma present with what appears to be clinically localized disease, making them candidates for standard treatment with surgery.

UCLA Researcher Provides Insight Into the Impact of Pembrolizumab in Melanoma

September 13th 2014

To gain further insight into the approval of pembrolizumab, OncLive interviewed John Glaspy, MD, MPH, from the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCLA, where research into the novel drug was conducted.

Combination BRAF-MEK Inhibition With Dabrafenib and Trametinib for BRAF-Mutant Melanoma

September 10th 2014

It is estimated that in 2014 more than 76,000 people will be diagnosed with melanoma and approximately 9700 people will die from the malignancy.

Dr. Andtbacka on T-VEC Plus Ipilimumab in Unresected Melanoma

September 8th 2014

Robert H. I. Andtbacka, MD, CM, from Intermountain Healthcare and Huntsman Cancer Institute, discusses the safety and efficacy of T-VEC in combination with ipilimumab in patients with previously untreated, unresected stage IIIB-IV melanoma.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Challenges Patent on Merck's Pembrolizumab

September 5th 2014

BMS has filed a lawsuit over Merck's newly approved immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, contending that the much-heralded PD-1 inhibitor will infringe upon patents that Bristol-Myers holds on the groundbreaking technology.

FDA Approves Pembrolizumab for Advanced Melanoma

September 4th 2014

The FDA has approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as a treatment for patients with advanced or unresectable melanoma who are no longer responding to other drugs, making it the first PD-1 inhibitor to gain approval in the United States.

Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX) Models as Avatars for Patient Response to Therapy

September 3rd 2014

The promise of personalized medicine in cancer will only be met once physicians have both the arsenal of therapeutics they need and a more complete understanding of genomic tumor profiles.

Update on Vismodegib's Place in the Treatment of Advanced BCC

August 18th 2014

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common human malignancy and by far the most prevalent form of skin cancer, accounting for more than 80% of all cases.

Dr. Daniels Discusses the Findings of the 2007-2012 PROCLAIM National Registry

August 7th 2014

Gregory A. Daniels, MD, PhD, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, University of California, San Diego, discusses the findings of the 2007-2012 PROCLAIM national registry

Immunotherapy Advances in Melanoma

July 28th 2014

Melanoma care has fortunately undergone a whirlwind of changes over the past several years. Novel immunotherapies are perhaps the most exciting recent development in cancer care because patients can enjoy long-term benefit from these treatments, meaning that they are possibly "cured."

Dr. Clarke on Melanoma Biopsies

July 25th 2014

Loren Clarke, MD, vice president of Medical Affairs of Dermatology at Myriad Genetics, discusses melanoma biopsies.

Dabrafenib/Trametinib Extends OS Versus Vemurafenib in Phase III Melanoma Trial

July 18th 2014

A phase III study comparing trametinib (Mekinist) plus dabrafenib (Tafinlar) with single-agent vemurafenib (Zelboraf) has been stopped early following a positive interim analysis