According to this recent study, use of combined therapeutic strategies triggering different apoptotic pathways may efficiently prevent the outgrowth of drug-resistant and -sensitive BRAF-mutant melanoma cells.
According to this recent 20-year single-institution study of non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs), in order to improve prevention strategies and prevent further increases in the incidence, there is a need to develop current and exact registries of these malignancies, especially separately for the most common types – BCC and SCC.
The aim of this recent study was to assess compliance of melanoma diagnosis and treatment timeliness with the MelNet Quality Statements at Waikato Hospital and in primary care for melanoma and melanoma in situ (MIS). The studu concludes that for 43 melanomas and 105 MIS, compliance across all melanoma services was poor, except for teledermatology response rates (100% compliance). From referral to first cancer treatment (Statement 2.1.1), compliance was 50% in general practice and 7.7% in Waikato Hospital. Histopathological reporting delays were also identified.
The Cancer Society of New Zealand (Te Kāhui Matepukupuku o Aotearoa) has announced that the 2024 National Grant Round is now open. The aim of the National Grant Round is to fund high-quality research across the cancer continuum (including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care). Specific funding is available for Melanoma research, and the Cancer Society encourage applications in this research area.
RELATIVITY-020 studied the safety of nivolumab and relatlimab in patients whose disease progressed on anti-PD-(L)1 treatments. The study concludes that 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.
According to this recent study, personalized and tumor-informed longitudinal circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) monitoring is a valuable prognostic and predictive tool that may be used throughout the clinical course of patients with advanced melanoma.
In this randomized phase 2 trial, blockade of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte protein 4 (CTLA-4) with continuation of programmed death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade in patients with metastatic melanoma who had received front-line anti-PD-1 or therapy against programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 and whose tumors progressed was tested in comparison with CTLA-4 blockade alone. The study concludes that primary resistance to PD-1 blockade therapy can be reversed in some patients with the combination of CTLA-4 and PD-1 blockade.
The objective of this recent study was to compare outcomes of wide (10 mm margins) versus narrow (5 mm margins) excisions in patients with radial growth phase T1 melanoma (invasive melanomas with Breslow thickness ≤1 mm) on head-and-neck including face. Authors conclude that narrower excision margins are not associated with worse overall survival or increased local recurrence compared to wider margins, and may be safely applied to such lesions, although caution may be required in the presence of lentigo maligna melanoma.
Electrodesiccation and curettage (EDC) is a common, minimally invasive treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in situ (SCCIS). According to this recent study, EDC allows for a high 5-year cure rate across a broad range of anatomic sites. However, overall cure rate should be individualized by anatomic location when counseling patients.
According to this recent cohort study of 318 patients with advanced or metastatic melanoma who received adjuvant anti–PD-1, chronic immune-related adverse events were common, affected diverse organ systems, and often persisted with long-term follow-up requiring steroids and additional management. Findings highlight the likelihood of persistent toxic effects when considering adjuvant therapies and need for long-term monitoring and management.