29 June 2018Current guidelines from the World Health Organization that state sun protection is required only when the UV Index is 3 or greater are not evidence based and are somewhat simplistic. New evidence that suggests the UV Index is a continuous scale and more comprehensive sun protection is required as the UV Index increases should inform the revision of these guidelines for the future, according to this recent study.
28 June 2018The use of antigen-specific immunotherapeutic alone is not efficacious in patients with stage IIIB or IIIC melanoma, according to this recent study. As a result the development of the MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic for use in melanoma has been stopped.
26 June 2018Testing of genomic variants can identify people who are susceptible to melanoma despite not having a traditional phenotypic risk profile, according to this recent study which analysed data from Australia and the UK.
25 June 2018Melanoma responses to interferon-y are heterogeneous, frequently downregulated in immune checkpoint inhibitor-naïve melanoma and potentially predictive of response to immunotherapy, according to this recent study.
22 June 2018Carcinogenic risk from UV nail lamps is low, however broad spectrum sunscreen with SPF >30, or protective gloves before UV nail lamp exposure is recommended, according to this recent study.
20 June 2018This feasibility study undertaken by the Australia and New Zealand Melanoma Trials Group (ANZMTG) was a phase III randomised control trial investigating 1cm vs 2cm wide excision margins for primary cutaneous melanoma.
Results demonstrate the feasibility of a large international randomised control trial to provide a definitive answer to the optimal excision margin for patients with intermediate to high-risk primary cutaneous melanoma. Results also showed the rate of reconstruction is significantly increased when a wider margin is employed, which is consistent with previous randomised control trials.
11 June 2018Cemiplimab induced a response in approximately half the patients treated for advanced cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma and was associated with adverse events that usually occur with immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to this recent study.
7 June 2018Cobimetinib combined with vemurafenib improves survival outcomes of patients with BRAFV600-mutated advanced melanoma compared with placebo and vemurafenib, according to this recent study.
6 June 2018Receiving real-time personalised melanoma risk assessments and tailored melanoma prevention advice has a greater impact on increasing sun protection behaviour in average risk patients compared with generic melanoma prevention advice, according to this recent Australian study.
24 May 2018This recent study used genetic data from almost 200,000 people of European ancestry to determine the genetics of sunburn and assess how these genes were responsible for protection from the sun. According to the study, almost all the genes involved in skin tanning were identified, which included 10 new genetic regions not previously identified. The results suggest the development of skin cancer can occur via two pathways: one dependent on skin pigmentation and the other independent of tanning ability.
