MelNet welcomes sunbed age restriction
1 July 2016MelNet is welcoming legislation restricting the use of sunbeds to those aged 18 or over. The Health (Protection) Amendment Bill passed its third reading in Parliament on 30 June 2016.
PHARMAC proposes to fund pembrolizumab (Keytruda)
28 June 2016PHARMAC is seeking feedback by 11 July 2016 on a proposal to fund pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for patients with advanced melanoma.
Mood changes after indoor tanning
21 June 2016Indoor tanners report relatively high rates of psychiatric and substance use symptoms, including symptoms of tanning dependence, and indoor tanning appears to alter mood, according to the results of a US study.
Survival for patients discontinuing nivolumab plus ipilimumab
16 June 2016Patients who discontinue nivolumab plus ipilimumab treatment due to drug toxicity derive an overall benefit similar to that observed in the overall population, according to data published in the ASCO Annual Meeting supplement of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
CheckMate 067: Longer Follow-Up Shows Melanoma PFS Still Better with Combo Nivolumab/Ipilimumab
15 June 2016Updated results of the CheckMate 067 trial continue to indicate that treatment with nivolumab plus ipilimumab or nivolumab alone significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with treatment-naive advanced melanoma compared with ipilimumab alone.
Immunotherapy: ASCO's Advance of the Year
14 June 2016Immunotherapy has been chosen as the "clinical cancer advance of the year" by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in its Clinical Cancer Advances 2016 report.
Impact of legislation on indoor tanning
14 June 2016While early evidence suggests that indoor tanning legislation in the USA is resulting in cultural change, continued efforts are necessary to limit further exposure and better inform the public of its dangers, according to authors of recent study.
Australian melanoma risk prediction model
11 June 2016A melanoma risk prediction model for Australia “performs well and may be useful in prevention interventions reliant on a risk assessment using self-assessed risk factors”, according to those who developed and externally validated the model.
PHARMAC funds Nivolumab (Opdivo) for advanced melanoma
10 June 2016From 1 July 2016 PHARMAC will fund Nivolumab (Opdivo) for patients with advanced melanoma.
Radiotherapy and immune checkpoints inhibitors for advanced melanoma
2 June 2016Radiotherapy may potentiate anti-melanoma activity of immune checkpoints inhibitors by enhancing response on both target and non-target lesions.