Skin Cancer

The FDA has approved the expanded indication for single-agent pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to include the frontline treatment of patients with unresectable metastatic melanoma regardless of BRAF status.

Roger Lo, MD, PhD, UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the evolution of metastatic melanoma during therapy.

Richard Joseph, MD, an oncologist at Mayo Clinic, discusses mucosal melanoma.

John Kirkwood, MD, Usher professor, Medicine, Dermatology and Translational Science, co-director, Melanoma and Skin Cancer Program, University of Pittsburgh, discusses training physicians on skin examinations for detecting melanoma. 

Sancy Leachman, MD, PhD, professor and chair, Department of Dermatology, director, Melanoma Research Program, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, discusses the mobile app Mole Mapper, which allows patients to measure and monitor their moles for melanoma.

The FDA has approved nivolumab (Opdivo) as a frontline treatment for patients with BRAF wild-type advanced melanoma, based on a substantial improvement in overall survival (OS) compared with dacarbazine in a phase III study.

The combination of Tafinlar (dabrafenib) and Mekinist (trametinib) has been fully approved by the FDA to treat patients with unresectable or metastatic BRAF-mutated melanoma. The approval is based on an extension in overall survival (OS) from two phase III studies.

In this interview to gain further insight into the flurry of FDA activity, Tim Turnham, executive director of the Melanoma Research Foundation, sheds light on the recent drug approvals and what's next for treating melanoma.

Many patients who have had melanoma do not conduct regular skin self-examinations, and those who do check themselves do not use sufficient tools or techniques.

The FDA has approved Cotellic (cobimetinib) to be used in combination with Zelboraf (vemurafenib) to treat patients with metastatic or unresectable melanoma who carry the BRAFV600E/K mutation.

The FDA has expanded the approval of Yervoy (ipilimumab) to include adjuvant treatment of fully resected stage III melanoma. The treatment will apply to patients with pathologic involvement of regional lymph nodes >1 mm.

The FDA has approved the first-in-class oncolytic viral therapy Imlygic (T-VEC; talimogene laherparepvec) for the local treatment of unresectable lesions of the skin and lymph nodes in patients with melanoma that recurred after initial surgery.

The FDA has approved the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) as a treatment for patients with BRAF V600 wild-type unresectable or metastatic melanoma

Richard W. Joseph, MD, oncologist, Mayo Clinic, discusses remaining optimistic with patients.

Richard W. Joseph, MD, oncologist, Mayo Clinic, discusses ways that nurses can help patients with melanoma manage toxicities from treatment.

Mario E. Lacouture, MD, dermatologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer, discusses how nurses can help prevent and manage skin toxicities associated with melanoma treatment.

Jason J. Luke, MD, an instructor in medicine atHarvard Medical School and a Medical Oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, explains why oncology nurses have such an important role in managing melanoma toxicities.

In February 2002, I was diagnosed with stage I melanoma.

The addition of the GM-CSF agent sargramostim to the CTLA-4 inhibitor ipilimumab (Yervoy) prolonged overall survival (OS) and lowered toxicity for patients with unresectable stage III or IV melanoma.

A new study has found that nearly one third of cancer patients suffer from anxiety or other mental health challenges, with breast cancer patients, head and neck cancer patients and melanoma patients suffering the most.

The FDA has approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of advanced melanoma, making it the first PD-1 inhibitor to receive approval in the United States and marking yet another milestone breakthrough for patients who once had little hope of surviving this disease.

Brianna Hoffner, MSN, RN, ANP-BC, AOCNP, nurse practitioner, The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, discusses how to monitor the adverse events in patients receiving treatment for melanoma.

Tim Turnham, executive director, Melanoma Research Foundation, provides an overview of some of the services offered by the Melanoma Research Foundation.

A new study has shown that the risk of developing melanoma was more closely related to sun exposure in early life than in adulthood in young Caucasian women.

A 10-year follow-up study of regional melanoma staging strategies found that patients who underwent sentinel-node biopsies had significantly greater disease-free survival rates (DFSRs) compared with patients monitored through nodal observation.