Hidden in plain sight: the (other) danger of COVID-19
The Novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) first emerged in Wuhan province, China, in late November 2019 and changed public healthcare perception. It has caused a significant decline in attendance to outpatient clinics. However, other diseases have not stopped, including malignant melanoma. Survey of the number of visits to plastic surgery outpatient clinic during the first lockdown in Israel concerning malignant melanoma was compared to the same months in the previous years. We assessed the number of visits to the oncology department during 2020 compared to the number of visits and treatment protocols for malignant melanoma...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 16, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Short Communications Source Type: research
Safety and efficacy of autologous tumor lysate particle-loaded dendritic cell vaccination in combination with systemic therapies in patients with recurrent and metastatic melanoma
Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of melanoma, yet survival remains poor for patients with metastatic disease. The autologous tumor lysate, particle-loaded, dendritic cell (TLPLDC) vaccine has been shown to be safe adjuvant therapy for patients with resected stage III/IV melanoma who complete the primary vaccine series. Here, we describe an open-label trial of patients with metastatic melanoma treated with TLPLDC vaccine in addition to standard of care (SoC) therapies. The TLPLDC vaccine is created by loading autologous tumor lysate into yeast cell wall particles, which are phagocytosed by autologous dendritic...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 16, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Clinical Research Source Type: research
C-reactive protein as a biomarker for immune-related adverse events in melanoma patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors in the adjuvant setting
The objective of this study was to evaluate the utility of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) as biomarker for the early diagnosis of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) in melanoma patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in the adjuvant setting, and its potential correlation with relapse-free survival (RFS). Prospectively collected data from 72 melanoma patients treated with adjuvant ICIs were pooled. CRP values at diagnosis of 10 irAEs were descriptively analysed. Correlations between RFS and the occurrence of irAEs, the grade of the irAE, the extent of CRP-elevation and the use of corticosteroids for irA...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 16, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Clinical Research Source Type: research
Sequential immunotherapy in melanoma: is it a realistic alternative to dual immunotherapy?
This study looked at outcomes for patients treated with sequential immunotherapy and compared them to patients who received dual immunotherapy. Fifty-eight patients received both Ipilimumab and an anti-PD-1 agent during the 5-year period, twenty-seven received dual immunotherapy, twenty received first-line Ipilimumab and eleven received an anti-PD-1 agent first line. The median overall survival (OS) was 24.8 months. The 5 year survival was greatest in patients treated with dual immunotherapy (42%) compared to first-line anti-PD-1 (33.3%) and first-line Ipilimumab (0%). As second-line treatments, anti-PD-1 agents had a medi...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 16, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Clinical Research Source Type: research
Surgery of small bowel melanoma metastases in the era of efficient medical therapies: a retrospective cohort study
Surgery of small bowel melanoma metastases has to be reconsidered in the era of targeted treatments and immunotherapy. To retrospectively assess context and outcomes of small bowel melanoma metastases resections. All consecutive melanoma patients who underwent resection of small bowel metastases between 2011 and 2017, in a single referral center, were retrospectively analyzed through melanoma-specific survival (MSS). A total of 20 patients were included with a 47.8 months median follow-up. Before small bowel surgery, eight patients (40%) were asymptomatic while seven had anemia and five patients had abdominal pain. All r...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 16, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Clinical Research Source Type: research
Clinical significance of CCNE1 copy number gain in acral melanoma patients
In this study, 490 acral melanoma samples were examined for CCNE1 copy number using the QuantiGenePlex DNA Assay. Correlation between CCNE1 copy number and acral melanoma patients’ clinicopathologic features were analyzed using Chi-squared test. The impact of CCNE1 copy number on patients’ progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) probability were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier analysis. The impact of CCNE1 copy number on patients’ median PFS after receiving chemotherapy was also evaluated. The results showed that CCNE1 copy number gain was observed in 28.30% of patients, with 3.16% of patients carryin...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 16, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Translational Research Source Type: research
Melanotransferrin is efficiently sorted on the surface of exosomes secreted by melanoma cells
Cutaneous melanoma is the most lethal type of skin cancer. Early detection is crucial to improve the outcome of melanoma patients. The identification of noninvasive prognostic biomarkers for the follow-up of melanoma patients is still in demand for clinical use. We show here that exosomal melanotransferrin fulfills the biomarker characteristics required to meet this demand. Melanotransferrin is typically overexpressed in melanoma cells compared to other cell types – including cancer cells – and is efficiently sorted and secreted with nanovesicles, or so-called exosomes, due to its membrane-anchoring by a glycosylphosph...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 16, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Translational Research Source Type: research
Induction of T helper 17 cell response by interleukin-7 in patients with primary cutaneous melanoma
Interleukin (IL)-7 plays a vital role in proliferation and activation of T cells, however, its signaling through CD127 is impaired in T cells in cancers and chronic infections. The mechanisms underlying T helper 17 (Th17) cell responses by IL-7 in melanoma remain not fully understood. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of IL-7 signaling on Th17 responses in patients with primary cutaneous melanoma. Healthy and primary cutaneous melanoma donors were selected for this study of Th17 cell function. IL-17+CD4+ Th17 cells and CD127 expression on Th17 cells were determined by flow cytometry. Cytokine level was measure...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 16, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Basic Science Source Type: research
Histone deacetylase inhibitor Vorinostat (SAHA) suppresses micropthalmia transcription factor expression and induces cell death in nevocytes from large/giant congenital melanocytic nevi
Large/giant congenital nevi (L/GCMN) are benign neoplasms of the melanocytic neural crest lineage covering extensive areas of skin presenting risk for melanoma. Surgical resection often leads to scarring and trauma. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (iHDACs) as topical therapeutic agents may prove beneficial as an alternative/adjunct to surgery in this disease. Here we describe the effect of in vitro treatment of iHDACs drugs on primary nevocytes isolated from L/GCMN patients. Micropthalmia transcription factor (MITF) expression in L/GCMN patients’ lesions was detected by immunohistochemistry, in cultured nevocytes by immun...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 16, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Basic Science Source Type: research
Knockdown of enhancer of rudimentary homolog expression attenuates proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of melanoma cells
Early stage or localized melanoma can be surgically resected with satisfactory outcome, whereas advanced malignant melanoma responds to treatment poorly and has a negative prognosis even after surgery, radiotherapy and other comprehensive treatments. Gene therapy targeting various biological signaling pathways has become an increasingly popular area in melanoma research. However, for gene therapy success, it is important to reveal the molecular mechanisms of melanoma tumorigenesis and development. The present study examined the effects of downregulating enhancer of rudimentary homolog (ERH) expression on the proliferation,...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 16, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Basic Science Source Type: research
ETS1 promoted cell growth, metastasis and epithelial–mesenchymal transition process in melanoma by regulating miR-16-mediated SOX4 expression
Melanoma is a malignant tumor with high metastasis and mortality. Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) was reported to be involved in the growth and metastasis of melanoma. To investigate these sections further, we showed that E26 transformation specific 1 (ETS1) could regulate growth, metastasis and EMT process of melanoma by regulating microRNA(miR)-16/SRY-related HMG box (SOX) 4 expression. MiR-16, ETS1, SOX4 and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) expression levels in melanoma cells were examined using qPCR. ETS1, SOX4, EMT-related proteins and NF-κB signaling pathway-related proteins were examined using western blot. Ce...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 16, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Original Articles: Basic Science Source Type: research
The role of regional chemotherapy for advanced limb melanoma in the era of potentially effective systemic therapies
To review the current role of regional chemotherapy in the management of advanced limb melanoma. Articles reporting the results of isolated limb infusion (ILI) were identified by performing a comprehensive literature search using the PubMed database. Keywords included isolated limb infusion, in-transit melanoma and melphalan. No publication date restrictions were applied. ILI data were compared with those from current systemic therapy clinical trials and the previously reviewed isolated limb perfusion (ILP) literature. Regional chemotherapy is today required in fewer patients because effective systemic therapies now provid...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 16, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Review Articles Source Type: research
The role of osteopontin in the development and metastasis of melanoma
Melanoma is a highly heterogeneous tumor. The incidence of melanoma increases with age and its long-term prognosis is poor. The treatment of melanoma includes surgical removal, chemotherapy and immunotherapy; however, the effect of these treatments is limited on mutated melanoma. Osteopontin is an extracellular protein which is expressed in numerous kinds of cells; it is related to the proliferation and invasion of cancer cells as well as the development of tumor microenvironment. The relationship between osteopontin and metastasis of melanoma has been clarified in recent years. This review focuses on the expression of ost...
Source: Melanoma Research - July 16, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Review Articles Source Type: research
Impact of COVID-19 on melanoma diagnosis
No abstract available (Source: Melanoma Research)
Source: Melanoma Research - May 13, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research
A case of hyperprolactinaemia in a patient with metastatic melanoma
We report here a 60-year-old gentleman who presented with hyperprolactinaemia (9100 mIU/L) causing expressible galactorrhoea, decreased libido and fatigue thought to be due to ectopic prolactin secretion from a metastatic melanoma. Upon initiation of pembrolizumab, the patient’s symptoms resolved and he became normoprolactinaemic. This corresponded with a partial response on radiological imaging. Although the core biopsy of the metastatic melanoma did not exhibit immunostaining for prolactin, we believe that only a subset of the tumour cells possesses prolactin-secreting capacity. This case illustrates the need to cons...
Source: Melanoma Research - May 13, 2021 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Short Communication: Clinical Research Source Type: research
