According to this recent study, rare immune related adverse events associated with ICIs in melanoma patients occurred, in aggregate, in 2–5% of patients treated with anti-PD-1-based therapy. Steroid re-escalation and alternative immunosuppression use were frequently required but fatal Immune-related adverse events were fairly uncommon.
The aim of this recent study was to investigate whether a past or present atopic disorder is associated with cutaneous photodamage, pigment cell nevi and skin cancers. It concludes that the atopy, especially mucus membrane atopy, is associated with lower percentages of subjects with a history of melanoma.
Using an adaptation of the World Health Organization framework for clinical adherence, this scoping review of randomized clinical trials identified key concepts as well as gaps in the way adherence is approached in design, conduct, and reporting of trials for skin self-examination and other self-management practices in people at high risk of melanoma. These findings may usefully guide future trials and clinical practice; evaluation of adherence strategies may be possible using a Study Within A Trial (SWAT) framework within host trials.
According to this recent study, after 2015, overall survival significantly improved for patients with melanoma brain metastasis (MBM), especially with stereotactic radiotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Demonstrating a large survival benefit, ICIs should be considered first after MBM diagnosis, if clinically feasible.
Individualized risk estimates for sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) positivity are critical in facilitating thorough decision-making for healthcare providers and patients with melanoma. A tool to calculate pretest probability of sentinel lympph node metastasis in primary cutaneous melanoma (ELMO https://melanoma-sentinel.herokuapp.com) has been developed and validated and was found to have high accuracy compared with other published models and gene expression tests.
According to this recent study there is a lack of knowledge regarding sun exposure and vitamin D. This was associated with suboptimal sun protection practices. Public education is warranted to prevent over-exposure, while supporting natural vitamin D production.
According to this recent study, myeloperoxidase (MPO) contributes to immune checkpoint therapy (ICT) resistance in established melanoma. Repurposing MPO-specific inhibitors may provide a promising therapeutic strategy to enhance ICT response.
While changes in serum protein glycosylation have been previously implicated in a pro-metastatic melanoma behaviour, authors of this recent study show here that they are also associated with response to immune checkpoint inhibitors, opening new avenues for the stratification of patients and the design of adjunct therapies aiming at improving immune response.
According to results from the phase I/IIa RELATIVITY-020 trial, nivolumab and relatlimab had a manageable safety profile and demonstrated durable clinical activity in a proportion of patients with heavily pretreated advanced melanoma with prior progression on anti–PD-(L)1-containing regimens.
This article reviews recent studies that highlight mechanical phenotypic plasticity of melanoma cells as a hallmark of adaptive and non-genetic resistance to treatment and emerging driver in cross-resistance to targeted therapies and immune checkpoints blockade therapies. It also discusses how targeting BRAF-mutant dedifferentiated cells and extracellular matrix-based mechanotransduction pathways may overcome melanoma cross-resistance.