Vitamin D deficiency in melanoma patients is associated with worse overall survival: a retrospective cohort study
Recent interest has emerged in the protective role of vitamin D in melanoma survival and is the subject of multiple studies with heterogeneous results. Here, we present a retrospective cohort study of 264 patients with invasive melanoma from a tertiary university hospital. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between vitamin D levels and prognosis of melanoma patients. We found that lower vitamin D levels are independently associated with worse overall survival in melanoma patients in concordance with previous studies on other populations. Vitamin D deficiency could play a survival role in melanoma patients...
Source: Melanoma Research - September 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Short Communication: Clinical Research Source Type: research
Variance from published guidelines and changes in temporal trends in the management of cutaneous malignant melanoma: a 5-year update
This study aimed to assess the current management of melanoma from relative to present guidelines and determine changes 5 years ago. An eight-question survey was sent to practicing US dermatologists using the same methodology and questions from our JAAD study. Overall, saucerization/scoop biopsy (48%) was the most commonly used method. The most commonly chosen margin for melanoma in-situ (MMIS) removal was 6–10 mm (51% of respondents). For CMM with a depth greater than 1 mm, the most commonly chosen margins were in the 1.1–1.9 cm range (55% of respondents). More respondents referred cases of MMIS and CMM out for treatm...
Source: Melanoma Research - September 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Clinical Research Source Type: research
Correlation of MRI signal characteristics of intracranial melanoma metastases with BRAF mutation status
This study compares signal characteristics of BRAFmut and BRAF-wildtype (BRAFwt) intracranial melanoma metastases (IMM). MRI brain examinations at first diagnosis of IMM were identified, all performed at 3-Tesla including 1 mm volumetric pre- and postcontrast T1-weighted imaging and susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI). Individual metastases were assessed by a neuroradiologist, stratified by size (≥10 mm, ‘larger’, vs. 2–9 mm, ‘small’; up to 10 per group); presence of intrinsic T1-hyperintensity (T1H) and, if present, whether confidently attributable to melanin as opposed to haemorrhage; evidence of haemorrhag...
Source: Melanoma Research - September 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Clinical Research Source Type: research
Treatment reality of patients with BRAF-mutant advanced/metastatic melanoma in Switzerland in the era of choice
Cutaneous melanoma represents a major cause of cancer death in Europe. Without adequate therapy, the 5-year survival rate is 15–20% in distant metastatic disease. Evaluating the status quo of treatment standards in advanced melanoma and rationale for therapy decisions in Switzerland between January 2016 and September 2018. In this retrospective, anonymized registry, data of male and female patients with unresectable advanced/metastatic BRAF-positive cutaneous melanoma treated in first-, second- and third-line with registered substances were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Forty-one patients (56.1% male) were inclu...
Source: Melanoma Research - September 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Clinical Research Source Type: research
Dacarbazine in the management of metastatic melanoma in the era of immune checkpoint therapy: a valid option or obsolete?
Despite the dramatic improvement in both overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with metastatic melanoma treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, up to 60% will develop treatment resistance and 50% will die from their disease. Therefore, although dacarbazine is no longer a mainstay of modern melanoma management, we examined the extent to, and in which context, it may still play a role. A retrospective analysis of electronic medical records of patients who had received dacarbazine treatment between October 2014 and October 2021, following innate or acquired resistance to immune checkpoint in...
Source: Melanoma Research - September 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Clinical Research Source Type: research
Clinical performance indicators for monitoring the management of cutaneous melanoma: a population-based perspective
This study utilizes clinical performance indicators to assess the quality of CMM care in Veneto (Northeast Italy). This population-based study focuses on all incidences of CMMs registered by the Veneto Cancer Registry in 2015 (1279 patients) and 2017 (1368 patients). An interdisciplinary panel of experts formulated a set of quality-monitoring indicators for diagnostic, therapeutic, and end-of-life clinical interventions for CMM. The quality of clinical care for patients was assessed by comparing the reference thresholds established by experts to the actual values obtained in clinical practice. The prevalence of stage I-CMM...
Source: Melanoma Research - September 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Clinical Research Source Type: research
Safety of combining dabrafenib plus trametinib in elderly BRAF V600 mutation-positive advanced melanoma patients: real-world data analysis of Spanish patients (ELDERLYMEL)
Efficacy and safety of dabrafenib and trametinib in metastatic melanoma have been demonstrated in two-phase III and one-phase I/II clinical trials. However, patients at least 75 years old (y.o.) were largely underrepresented. Additionally, the safety profile of dabrafenib and trametinib based on age is unknown. ELDERLYMEL is a retrospective noninterventional multicenter study, describing the effectiveness and safety of at least 75 y.o. patients compared with less than 75 y.o. patients with advanced BRAF V600-mutated melanoma treated with dabrafenib plus trametinib or dabrafenib monotherapy. A total of 159 patients were inc...
Source: Melanoma Research - September 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Clinical Research Source Type: research
Brain metabolic changes in patients with disseminated malignant melanoma under immunotherapy
Although there is evidence that chemotherapy can have side effects on metabolism and brain function, there are few studies on the occurrence of these side effects with immunotherapy. The present study was conducted to assess whether brain metabolic changes occur in patients with malignant melanoma under immunotherapy. Thirty-nine patients after surgical intervention and with a diagnosis of malignant melanoma were retrospectively included and were divided into two groups: one group under the first-line therapy with anti-programmed cell death-1 ± anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 monoclonal antibodies and the other grou...
Source: Melanoma Research - September 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Clinical Research Source Type: research
Clinical and immune correlate results from a phase 1b study of the histone deacetylase inhibitor mocetinostat with ipilimumab and nivolumab in unresectable stage III/IV melanoma
Checkpoint immunotherapies (CPIs) have improved outcomes for metastatic melanoma patients, with objective response rates to combination ipilimumab and nivolumab of ~58%. Preclinical data suggest that histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition enhances antitumor immune activity and may augment CPI. In a phase Ib open-label pilot trial (NCT03565406), patients with therapy-naive metastatic melanoma were treated with the class I/IV HDAC inhibitor mocetinostat orally three times a week in combination with nivolumab and ipilimumab every 3 weeks for 12 weeks followed by 12-week maintenance cycles of nivolumab every 2 weeks and mocetin...
Source: Melanoma Research - September 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Clinical Research Source Type: research
Prognostic significance of tumor budding in melanoma
Cutaneous melanoma is an aggressive neoplasm with growing incidence and continuous research is undertaken for novel prognostic factors. This current research aims to determine if tumor budding is an independent factor that correlates with the survival of patients with melanoma. A total of 742 cases of melanoma were evaluated. A receiver operating curve (ROC) was performed to analyze tumor budding impact on survival, identifying a cutoff point associated with death. Subsequently, two groups of participants were created based on that result. Participants within the two groups were compared for clinicopathologic characteristi...
Source: Melanoma Research - September 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Basic Research Source Type: research
Polymorphisms in toll-like receptor 3 and 4 genes as prognostic and outcome biomarkers in melanoma patients
Melanoma is one of the most aggressive tumors, and in the setting of rising incidence and mortality, there is an urgent need to identify new prognostic markers. Toll-like receptors (TLRs), are aberrantly expressed in numerous cancers, including melanoma. TLR signaling provides a microenvironment that is involved in antitumor immune response, chronic inflammation, cancer cell proliferation and evasion of immune destruction. In the present study, we investigated whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TLR3 and TLR4 genes are associated with clinicopathologic features, progression and survival of melanoma patients. ...
Source: Melanoma Research - September 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Basic Research Source Type: research
Fertility preservation for patients with melanoma
The advent of immunotherapy and targeted therapy has outstandingly improved the prognosis in subjects with melanoma. Their use is now advocated also in earlier stages as an adjuvant therapy, and some neoadjuvant clinical trials are ongoing. Consequently, survivors free of disease are increasing, as well as those exposed to these new agents. Parenthood in survivors is, therefore, receiving growing interest. Evidence on the effects of immunotherapy and targeted therapy on future fertility is limited, but not entirely reassuring, in particular for immunotherapy. The necessity of delaying pregnancy seeking up to the end of tre...
Source: Melanoma Research - September 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Review Article Source Type: research
Reply to John L. Frater’s letter to the editor: Use of laboratory hematology data in melanoma research: comments on ‘A novel prognostic biomarker for cutaneous malignant melanoma: red cell distribution width (RDW) to lymphocyte ratio’
No abstract available (Source: Melanoma Research)
Source: Melanoma Research - July 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research
Immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy with anti-signal recognition particle antibodies, in a patient with melanoma treated with BRAF/MEK inhibitors
The effect of serine/threonine-protein kinase B-Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase (BRAF/MEK) inhibitors on the immune system is not clearly described, but rare cases of autoimmune phenomena have been reported. The clinical case we present below is the first report of a necrotizing myopathy related to dabrafenib/trametinib treatment. A 48-year-old man started dabrafenib/trametinib for stage IV BRAF-V600E mutated cutaneous melanoma. After the first month, he presented with grade 3 pyrexia (Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events [CTCAE] v.5.0.) and increased creatinine-kinase levels. A diagnosis of immune-mediated ...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Short Communications: Clinical Research Source Type: research
Case report: response to the ERK1/2 inhibitor ulixertinib in BRAF D594G cutaneous melanoma
We report the case of an individual diagnosed with stage III BRAF D594G-mutant melanoma who experienced an extraordinary response to the ERK1/2 inhibitor ulixertinib as fourth-line therapy. Ulixertinib was obtained via an intermediate expanded access protocol with unique flexibility to permit both single-agent and combination treatments, dose adjustments, breaks in treatment to undergo surgery, and long-term preventive treatment following surgical resection offering this patient the potential for curative treatment. (Source: Melanoma Research)
Source: Melanoma Research - July 10, 2022 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Short Communications: Clinical Research Source Type: research
