Tags: Melanoma
Adjuvant Therapy in High-Risk, Node-Negative Melanoma
H&O Which patients with high-risk, node-negative melanoma should receive adjuvant therapy? MR First, it is important to define what is meant by “high-risk,” or what the […]
Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte Therapy in Metastatic Melanoma
H&O What options are available for patients with metastatic melanoma that does not respond or has stopped responding to checkpoint inhibition and BRAF/MEK-targeted agents? JC No […]
Current and Emerging Options for Patients With Melanoma Brain Metastases
Abstract: Melanoma is the most aggressive skin cancer, with a high incidence of metastatic spread and a predilection for metastases to the brain. It represents the […]
Update on Adjuvant Therapy in Late-Stage Resected Melanoma
H&O Which patients with melanoma are candidates for adjuvant therapy? AT Systemic adjuvant therapy that targets residual micrometastatic disease—which is the source of future melanoma relapse […]
The Microbiome: A Basis for Novel Immunomodulation in Mice and Men
H&O Why does immunotherapy work better in some patients with melanoma than in others? HZ We are still unsure about that, but we are working […]
The Best Treatments to Use After Checkpoint Inhibition in Melanoma
H&O Which patients with melanoma are candidates for checkpoint inhibition? GM All patients with unresectable metastatic melanoma—stage IV and unresectable stage III disease—are candidates for checkpoint […]
Is There a Role for Single-Agent BRAF Inhibition in Melanoma?
H&O What makes BRAF inhibition a good approach to the treatment of melanoma? BC BRAF inhibitors, especially when combined with MEK inhibitors, are an excellent […]
Is There a Role for Single-Agent MEK Inhibition in Melanoma?
H&O Which MEK inhibitors have been approved for use in melanoma? DJ The US Food and Drug Administration has approved 2 MEK inhibitors for use in […]
Update on the Treatment of Uveal Melanoma
H&O How common is uveal melanoma, including metastatic uveal melanoma? RC Uveal melanoma is rare, with an incidence of approximately 5 cases per million people […]
Advances in Targeted Therapy for Melanoma
Abstract: Metastatic melanoma remains an aggressive malignancy conferring a very poor prognosis, and standard chemotherapeutic and immunologic treatments have not demonstrated an overall survival benefit. No molecularly targeted therapy is approved for the treatment of advanced melanoma. Melanoma is a molecularly heterogeneous malignancy, and optimal treatment in a given patient is likely to depend on the presence of specific molecular abnormalities. Aberrations in components of signal transduction pathways have been identified that modulate melanoma proliferation and survival. Mutations that activate the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway via BRAF or NRAS are present in the majority of melanomas arising on skin intermittently exposed to the sun. Mutations that activate the KIT oncogene are more commonly present in melanomas arising from mucosal, acral, or chronic sun-damaged sites. Inhibitors of the MAPK pathway and of KIT are currently undergoing clinical investigation. In this article, we review advances in targeted strategies to treat different subgroups of patients with melanoma.