ctDNA Monitoring Is Important for BRAF-Mutant Melanoma
July 27th 2019Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) monitoring is clinically valid in predicting whether patients with unresectable, metastatic BRAF-mutant melanoma will benefit from dabafenib (Tafinlar) alone or in combination with trametinib (Mekinist).
SITC Updates Immunotherapy Guidelines for Melanoma
November 28th 2018Rapid changes in the treatment landscape for melanoma have prompted the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) to issue updated consensus guidelines to help clinicians stratify patients, choose optimal treatment regimens, and manage immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in patients with stage II to IV disease.
Shared Decision Making Key in Choosing Adjuvant Treatments for Melanoma
November 10th 2018The fast pace of development in the immunotherapy and targeted therapy space has outstripped the availability of head-to-head comparative data for adjuvant melanoma treatment. Therefore, Hussein Tawbi, MD, PhD, recommended for healthcare professionals to communicate the relative merits and risks of both options to patients and making a shared decision.
FDA Approves Cemiplimab for CSCC
September 29th 2018The FDA has approved the PD-1 inhibitor cemiplimab (Libtayo) for the treatment of patients with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) or patients with locally advanced CSCC who are not candidates for curative surgery or curative radiation.
FDA Grants Priority Review to Pembrolizumab for Advanced Merkel Cell Carcinoma
September 4th 2018The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted priority review to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of adults and children with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare skin cancer.
FDA Approves Binimetinib/Encorafenib for BRAF+ Melanoma
June 27th 2018The FDA has approved the combination of the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib (Braftovi) and the MEK inhibitor binimetinib (Mektovi) for the treatment of patients with BRAF-mutant unresectable or metastatic melanoma, as detected by an FDA-approved test.
FDA Grants Priority Review to Cemiplimab for Treatment of Metastatic CSCC
May 1st 2018The FDA has granted a priority review to a biologics license application (BLA) for cemiplimab, a PD-1 inhibitor, for use in the treatment of patients with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) or patients with locally advanced CSCC who are not eligible for surgery.
BLU-667 Shows Clinical Benefit in Advanced, RET-Altered Solid Tumors
April 20th 2018BLU-667 appeared to be well-tolerated and had broad clinical benefit among patients with advanced, RET-altered solid tumors who progressed on prior therapies, according to study findings from a phase I clinical trial presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2018.
Younger Cancer Survivors Put Themselves at Risk When They Fail to Seek Follow-Up Care
February 19th 2018Many adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of cancer end up "lost to follow-up," according to recent research. Nurses charged with patient education should take heed, and be sure to stress the importance of follow-up care to their AYA patients and their families.
Patients With Brain Metastases May Now Have a Better Chance of Inclusion in Clinical Trials
February 2nd 2018Patients whose cancers have metastasized to the brain or central nervous system are often excluded from clinical trials, but now, new guidelines may help researchers identify appropriate clinical trials in which these people may be included.
Dense Tissue Is Not an Obstacle to Immunotherapy in Desmoplastic Melanoma
January 31st 2018Researchers have recently discovered that immunotherapy agents have potential to effectively treat desmoplastic melanoma, even though the dense tissue associated with this rare cancer would seem to preclude it.
Neoadjuvant Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab Is Effective, But Toxic in Melanoma
November 14th 2017Neoadjuvant treatment with the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) demonstrated almost a tripling in objective response rate (ORR) compared with the PD-1 inhibitor alone but at the cost of significant added grade 3 adverse events (AEs) for patients with high-risk resectable melanoma, according to a small study presented at the 2017 SITC Annual Meeting.