Article
Oncology
Alexander Schulz, Jennifer Raetz, Paula C. Karitzky, Lisa Dinter, Julia K. Tietze, Isabell Kolbe, Theresa Kaeubler, Bertold Renner, Stefan Beissert, Friedegund Meier, Dana Westphal
Summary: In the past, metastatic melanoma was often considered incurable, but with the introduction of new therapies, such as BRAF and MEK inhibitors, significant progress has been made in the treatment of this disease. This study compared different combinations of BRAF and MEK inhibitors, with encorafenib/trametinib showing the highest anti-tumor activity in both BRAF- and NRAS-mutated melanoma cells. These findings suggest that this particular combination may be more effective than current standard treatments and warrants further investigation in clinical trials to potentially improve overall responses in melanoma patients.
Article
Dermatology
Chang Gon Kim, Miso Kim, Jieon Hwang, Seung Tae Kim, Minkyu Jung, Kyoo Hyun Kim, Kyung Hwan Kim, Jee Suk Chang, Woong Sub Koom, Mi Ryung Roh, Kee Yang Chung, Tae Min Kim, Sang Kyum Kim, Jeeyun Lee, Sang Joon Shin
Summary: This study compared the outcomes of first-line pembrolizumab and dabrafenib/trametinib treatment for patients with advanced melanoma with BRAF mutations. The results showed that first-line pembrolizumab treatment resulted in longer overall survival, suggesting it may be a better treatment option.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lauren Y. Cheng, Lauren E. Haydu, Ping Song, Jianyi Nie, Michael T. Tetzlaff, Lawrence N. Kwong, Jeffrey E. Gershenwald, Michael A. Davies, David Yu Zhang
Summary: The study demonstrates that the NuProbe VarTrace BRAF sequencing technology can detect BRAF V600 mutations down to 0.20% VAF from FFPE lymph node tissue samples, with high concordance among various methods for samples with VAF>=1% BRAF mutations, but with possible false negatives in IHC. The BDA Sanger method is effective for rapid detection and quantitation of multiple low VAF BRAF mutations.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Georgina Long, Jason J. Luke, Muhammad A. Khattak, Luis de la Cruz Merino, Michele Del Vecchio, Piotr Rutkowski, Francesco Spagnolo, Jacek Mackiewicz, Vanna Chiarion-Sileni, John M. Kirkwood, Caroline Robert, Jean-Jacques Grob, Federica de Galitiis, Dirk Schadendorf, Matteo S. Carlino, Peter Mohr, Reinhard Dummer, Jeffrey E. Gershenwald, Charles H. Yoon, Xi Lawrence Wu, Mizuho Fukunaga-Kalabis, Clemens Krepler, Alexander M. M. Eggermont, Paolo A. Ascierto
Summary: Adjuvant pembrolizumab is an efficacious treatment option for resected stage IIB and IIC melanoma, with a significant improvement in distant metastasis-free survival compared to placebo and continued reduction in the risk of recurrence. The adverse event profile of pembrolizumab is consistent with previous studies.
Article
Oncology
Jesper van Breeschoten, Michel W. J. M. Wouters, Doranne L. Hilarius, John B. Haanen, Christian U. Blank, Maureen J. B. Aarts, Franchette W. P. J. van den Berkmortel, Jan-Willem B. de Groot, Geke A. P. Hospers, Ellen Kapiteijn, Djura Piersma, Roos S. van Rijn, Karijn P. M. Suijkerbuijk, Willeke A. M. Blokx, Bert-Jan J. ten Tije, Astrid A. M. van der Veldt, Art Vreugdenhil, Marye J. Boers-Sonderen, Alfonsus J. M. van den Eertwegh
Summary: The study showed that in advanced melanoma patients with BRAF(V600) mutation, first-line anti-PD-1 monotherapy had better survival rates and efficacy compared to BRAF/MEK inhibitors, making it the preferred treatment option for these patients.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Yana G. Najjar, Dustin McCurry, Huang Lin, Yan Lin, Yan Zang, Diwakar Davar, Arivarasan Karunamurthy, Joseph J. Drabick, Rogerio I. Neves, Lisa H. Butterfield, Marc S. Ernstoff, Igor Puzanov, Joseph J. Skitzki, Jennifer Bordeaux, IlaSri B. Summit, Jehovana O. Bender, Ju Young Kim, Beiru Chen, Ghanashyam Sarikonda, Anil Pahuja, Jennifer Tsau, Zeni Alfonso, Christian Laing, James F. Pingpank, Matthew P. Holtzman, Cindy Sander, Amy Rose, Hassane M. Zarour, John M. Kirkwood, Ahmad A. Tarhini
Summary: Neoadjuvant concurrent HDI and pembrolizumab therapy showed promising clinical activity in resectable advanced melanoma patients, despite high rates of treatment discontinuation. Pathologic complete response was identified as a prognostic indicator.
CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Walid Shalata, Rachel Steckbeck, Ilya Polishchuk, Ahron Yehonatan Cohen, Keren Rouvinov, Margarita Tokar, Ashraf Abu Jama, Omar Abu Saleh, Kim Sheva, Alexander Yakobson
Summary: This case report presents a patient with metastatic melanoma complicated by hyperbilirubinemia. The patient had BRAF V600E-mutated melanoma with metastases in various organs. Due to a lack of guidelines for treating melanoma patients with hyperbilirubinemia, a panel of specialists discussed between treatment initiation and supportive care. The patient eventually received combination therapy with dabrafenib and trametinib, resulting in a significant therapeutic and radiological response.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Pawel Rogala, Anna M. Czarnecka, Bozena Cybulska-Stopa, Krzysztof Ostaszewski, Karolina Piejko, Marcin Zietek, Robert Dziura, Ewa Rutkowska, Lukasz Galus, Natasza Kempa-Kaminska, Jacek Calik, Agata Salek-Zan, Tomasz Zemelka, Wieslaw Bal, Agnieszka Kamycka, Tomasz Switaj, Grazyna Kaminska-Winciorek, Rafal Suwinski, Jacek Mackiewicz, Piotr Rutkowski
Summary: Limited data is available on the sequencing of targeted therapy and immunotherapy in patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of BRAFi/MEKi therapy as a second-line treatment for advanced melanoma patients, with similar efficacy observed for all combinations of BRAFi/MEKi.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Jason J. Luke, Piotr Rutkowski, Paola Queirolo, Michele Del Vecchio, Jacek Mackiewicz, Vanna Chiarion-Sileni, Luis de la Cruz-Merino, Muhammad A. Khattak, Dirk Schadendorf, Georgina Long, Paolo A. Ascierto, Mario Mandala, Federica De Galitiis, Andrew Haydon, Reinhard Dummer, Jean-Jacques Grob, Caroline Robert, Matteo S. Carlino, Peter Mohr, Andrew Poklepovic, Vernon K. Sondak, Richard A. Scolyer, John M. Kirkwood, Ke Chen, Scott J. Diede, Sama Ahsan, Nageatte Ibrahim, Alexander M. M. Eggermont
Summary: The study demonstrates that Pembrolizumab as adjuvant therapy significantly prolongs recurrence-free survival in patients with stage II melanoma, with manageable safety profile.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
James R. Miller, Serigne N. Lo, Mehdi Nosrati, Jonathan R. Stretch, Andrew J. Spillane, Robyn P. M. Saw, Kerwin F. Shannon, Omgo E. Nieweg, Sydney Ch'ng, Kevin B. Kim, Stanley P. Leong, John F. Thompson, Richard A. Scolyer, Mohammed Kashani-Sabet
Summary: By refining eligibility guidelines, more appropriate patients can be identified to undergo useful medical procedures, improving cost-effectiveness in selecting patients with melanoma for sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB).
Article
Oncology
Alyssa Panning, Wolfram Samlowski, Gabriel Allred
Summary: Most melanoma patients have non-overlapping driver mutations in either BRAF, NRAS, or NF1 genes based on Next-Gen sequencing. Rare patients with BRAF fusion genes or internal rearrangements had a significantly reduced progression-free and overall survival, while no other driver or passenger mutations appeared to influence outcome in a multivariate analysis.
Article
Oncology
Saba S. Shaikh, Yan Zang, Janel Hanmer, Hong Wang, Yan Lin, Diwakar Davar, Hassane M. Zarour, John M. Kirkwood, Yana G. Najjar
Summary: This phase I trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of combined therapy with pembrolizumab, vemurafenib, and cobimetinib in untreated patients with BRAFV600E/K mutant advanced melanoma. The results showed that the triple therapy resulted in prolonged progression-free survival and overall survival, as well as a high objective response rate. However, significant adverse events led to the early closure of the study.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Adi Diab, Scott S. Tykodi, Gregory A. Daniels, Michele Maio, Brendan D. Curti, Karl D. Lewis, Sekwon Jang, Ewa Kalinka, Igor Puzanov, Alexander Spira, Daniel C. Cho, Shanhong Guan, Erika Puente, Tuan Nguyen, Ute Hoch, Sue L. Currie, Wei Lin, Mary A. Tagliaferri, Jonathan Zalevsky, Mario Sznol, Michael E. Hurwitz
Summary: This study found that the combination of BEMPEG and NIVO showed promising antitumor activity in first-line metastatic melanoma, including extended median progression-free survival. Early on-treatment blood biomarkers were associated with treatment response.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ernesto Rossi, Giovanni Schinzari, Francesco Cellini, Mario Balducci, Mariangela Pasqualoni, Brigida Anna Maiorano, Bruno Fionda, Silvia Longo, Francesco Deodato, Alessandro Di Stefani, Ketty Peris, Maria Antonietta Gambacorta, Giampaolo Tortora
Summary: BRAF and MEK inhibitors have changed the clinical management of metastatic melanoma, but their combination with radiotherapy needs careful monitoring for potential toxicity. This study reports the successful use of fractionated radiotherapy in metastatic melanoma patients receiving BRAF and MEK inhibitors, without significant adverse events. These results suggest that interruption of targeted therapy during radiotherapy for oligoprogressive disease can be avoided.
Article
Oncology
Katharina C. Kaehler, Ralf Gutzmer, Friedegrund Meier, Lisa Zimmer, Markus Heppt, Anja Gesierich, Kai-Martin Thoms, Jochen Utikal, Jessica C. Hassel, Carmen Loquai, Claudia Pfoehler, Lucie Heinzerling, Martin Kaatz, Daniela Goeppner, Annette Pflugfelder, Ann-Sophie Bohne, Imke Satzger, Lydia Reinhardt, Jan-Malte Placke, Dirk Schadendorf, Selma Ugurel
Summary: The development of an early exanthema within 6 weeks after treatment start indicates a favorable therapy outcome upon vemurafenib plus cobimetinib. Patients presenting with an early exanthema should therefore be treated with adequate supportive measures to provide that patients can stay on treatment. In the COBIVEM cohort, patients with a mild early exanthema had a superior survival outcome compared to patients with a severe or non early exanthema.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
John Powderly, Alexander Spira, Shunsuke Kondo, Toshihiko Doi, Jason J. Luke, Drew Rasco, Bo Gao, Minna Tanner, Philippe A. Cassier, Anas Gazzah, Antoine Italiano, Diego Tosi, Daniel E. Afar, Apurvasena Parikh, Benjamin Engelhardt, Stefan Englert, Stacie L. Lambert, Sreeneeranj Kasichayanula, Sven Mensing, Rajeev Menon, Gregory Vosganian, Anthony Tolcher
Summary: Budigalimab, a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting PD-1 receptor, showed promising efficacy and good safety profile in clinical trials. PK/PD effects were consistent across different doses and regimens, and responses were similar between Japanese and Western patients.
CTS-CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Sarah S. Mougalian, Jonathan K. Kish, Jingchuan Zhang, Djibril Liassou, Bruce A. Feinberg
Summary: The retrospective chart review study confirms the clinical effectiveness of eribulin in patients with MBC, including TNBC, when used according to the approved US indication in real-world clinical practice. The study included 513 patients with an ORR of 54.4% and median PFS of 6.1 months in all patients, and an ORR of 55.5% and median PFS of 5.8 months in patients with TNBC.
ADVANCES IN THERAPY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Corey C. Foster, Gini F. Fleming, Theodore G. Karrison, Chih-Yi Liao, Ami Desai, John W. Moroney, Mark J. Ratain, Rita Nanda, Blase N. Polite, Olwen M. Hahn, Peter H. O'Donnell, Everett E. Vokes, Hedy L. Kindler, Robyn Hseu, Linda A. Janisch, Julia Dai, Mark D. Hoffman, Ralph R. Weichselbaum, Sean P. Pitroda, Steven J. Chmura, Jason J. Luke
Summary: The study evaluated the safety and efficacy of SBRT combined with different immunotherapy drugs for advanced solid tumors, finding that SBRT combined with nivolumab+urelumab or nivolumab+cabiralizumab for treating 4 or fewer metastases is feasible with modest antitumor activity.
CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Max Jameson-Lee, Jason J. Luke
Summary: Studies like KEYNOTE-029 indicate that low-dose ipilimumab with anti-PD1 can maintain efficacy and reduce toxicity in melanoma patients, by emphasizing T-cell trafficking and reinvigoration as likely mechanisms of action.
CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Oncology
Jianda Yuan, Anuradha Khilnani, Joshua Brody, Robert H. Andtbacka, Siwen Hu-Lieskovan, Jason J. Luke, Adi Diab, Aurelien Marabelle, Alexandra Snyder, Z. Alexander Cao, F. Stephen Hodi
Summary: Immunotherapy has significantly improved cancer treatment by activating host antitumor immune responses, with immune checkpoint inhibitors showing durable responses in some patients. Ongoing clinical research is focused on understanding mechanisms of ICI resistance to enhance response rates and overall survival, and evaluating novel combination therapies to overcome resistance in the tumor microenvironment.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2021)
Meeting Abstract
Oncology
Lilit Karapetyan, Adam C. Olson, William E. Gooding, Riyue Bao, Steven J. Chmura, Jason J. Luke
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Paolo A. Ascierto, Christian Blank, Reinhard Dummer, Marc S. Ernstoff, Soldano Ferrone, Bernard A. Fox, Thomas F. Gajewski, Claus Garbe, Patrick Hwu, Pawel Kalinski, Michelle Krogsgaard, Roger S. Lo, Jason J. Luke, Bart Neyns, Michael A. Postow, Sergio A. Quezada, Michele W. L. Teng, Giorgio Trinchieri, Alessandro Testori, Corrado Caraco, Iman Osman, Igor Puzanov, Magdalena Thurin
Summary: Advances in immune checkpoint therapy and targeted therapy have improved overall survival for patients with advanced melanoma, but challenges remain in patient classification, therapy selection, and prediction of treatment response. Understanding tumor microenvironment, immunity, and therapy response drives translational and clinical research in melanoma.
JOURNAL OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Review
Oncology
Tyler Buchanan, Afsaneh Amouzegar, Jason J. Luke
Summary: Immune checkpoint inhibition has revolutionized outcomes for patients with metastatic melanoma. The ongoing development of novel agents is offering hope for patients who have progressed despite initial treatments. The outlook for the next generation of immunotherapy remains promising, with early clinical trials showing encouraging results.
CURRENT ONCOLOGY REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Annie Xiao, Jason J. Luke, Julien Partouche, Ted Karrison, Steven J. Chmura, Hania A. Al-Hallaq
Summary: The purpose of this study was to characterize the radiation doses to organs-at-risk (OAR) in patients undergoing stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) combined with programmed cell death protein 1 blockade for metastatic disease. The results showed that multisite SBRT could be safely tolerated when treating critical OAR near NRG-BR001 constraints, with acceptable toxicity in the corresponding organ systems.
PRACTICAL RADIATION ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Meeting Abstract
Oncology
Jason J. Luke, Anthony J. Olszanski, Igor Puzanov, Dan Lu, Adrian Hackett, Stella Martomo, Jeegar Patel, Olivier Schueller, Alessandro Mora, Miranda L. Schlitt, Linghui Li
Meeting Abstract
Economics
M. Zettler, C. Brown-Bickerstaff, K. Savill, A. Gajra, B. Feinberg
Article
Oncology
Riyue Bao, Oliver Surriga, Daniel J. Olson, Jacob B. Allred, Carrie A. Strand, Yuanyuan Zha, Timothy Carll, Brian W. Labadie, Bruno R. Bastos, Marcus Butler, David Hogg, Elgilda Musi, Grazia Ambrosini, Pamela Munster, Gary K. Schwartz, Jason J. Luke
Summary: This study aimed to explore potential therapeutic targets in metastatic uveal melanoma through transcriptomics analysis. The results suggest neuropillin-1 as a potential indicator of poor survival in uveal melanoma, with initial functional validation showing its role in mediating cell proliferation and migration.
Meeting Abstract
Oncology
A. Gajra, M. Zettler, J. Kish, B. Feinberg
JOURNAL OF THORACIC ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Meeting Abstract
Oncology
Bruce Feinberg, Igoni Dokubo, Jeff Wojtynek, Jonathan Kish
Meeting Abstract
Oncology
Sarah S. Mougalian, Jonathan K. Kish, Jingchuan Zhang, Djibril Liassou, Bruce A. Feinberg
