Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Laura A. Huppert, Adil Daud
Summary: Intratumoral therapy, a method of delivering medication directly into the tumor, has shown potential in treating advanced unresectable and metastatic melanoma. It increases drug concentration locally, attracts immune cells to the tumor, and reduces systemic side effects. A wide range of intratumoral agents have been studied, and there is clinical and pre-clinical data supporting their use.
HUMAN VACCINES & IMMUNOTHERAPEUTICS
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Taylor J. Aiken, David Komjathy, Matthew Rodriguez, Ashley Stuckwisch, Arika Feils, Vladimir Subbotin, Jen Birstler, Stephen D. Gillies, Alexander L. Rakhmilevich, Amy K. Erbe, Paul M. Sondel
Summary: Neoadjuvant in-situ tumor vaccination using anti-GD2 immunocytokine and surgical resection generates immunologic memory capable of preventing distant metastasis, despite limited efficacy against large primary melanoma tumors.
JOURNAL FOR IMMUNOTHERAPY OF CANCER
(2022)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Gi Ru Shin, Hee Eun Kim, Jae Ho Kim, Sangdun Choi, Moon Suk Kim
Summary: This review discusses the use of injectable in situ-forming hydrogels in intratumoral injection for cancer treatment, highlighting their potential for improving drug bioavailability and minimizing side effects. The antitumor effects of drug-loaded hydrogels through intratumoral injection are also explored, with a focus on future applications and challenges of this drug delivery technology.
Article
Oncology
John F. Thompson, Robyn P.M. Saw, Johanna M. Dalton, Jonathan R. Stretch, Andrew J. Spillane, Natalie S. Osborne, Gabrielle J. Williams, Serigne N. Lo
Summary: Treatment with intralesional injection of PV-10 for melanoma in-transit metastases showed promising results in achieving tumor regression, with complete response in 46% of patients and partial response in 40% of patients. Despite the simplicity and safety of PV-10 injection, new lesions developed in many patients, requiring additional treatment with PV-10 or alternative therapies.
Review
Oncology
Agnieszka Nowacka, Anna Fajkiel-Madajczyk, Jakub Ohla, Kamila Wozniak-Dabrowska, Sara Liss, Karol Gryczka, Wojciech Smuczynski, Ewa Ziolkowska, Dominika Bozilow, Maciej Sniegocki, Michal Wicinski
Summary: Melanoma, a type of skin cancer, has a strong correlation with exposure to ultraviolet radiation. It has the highest mortality rate among all skin cancers due to the formation of brain metastases. The mechanisms behind melanoma metastasis to the brain are not fully understood, but the presence of oncogenic BRAF mutation plays a role in its survival and development.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Meng Zhang, Yingzhi Chen, Dongdong Li, Zhidi He, Hairui Wang, Aihua Wu, Weidong Fei, Caihong Zheng, Ergang Liu, Yongzhuo Huang
Summary: This study developed an in situ vaccination strategy using gold nanocage (AuNC)-based photothermal effect in combination with adjuvant and PD-L1 suppressor to alleviate intratumoral immunosuppression in cancer immunotherapy. The results showed that this strategy effectively activated immune cells and demonstrated high therapeutic efficacy in a melanoma mouse model. It increased infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocytes, suppressed PD-L1 expression, and repolarized tumor-associated macrophages, thereby remodeling the tumor microenvironment.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Anna K. Lawless, David J. Coker, Serigne N. Lo, Tasnia Ahmed, Richard A. Scolyer, Sydney Ch'ng, Omgo E. Nieweg, Kerwin Shannon, Andrew Spillane, Jonathan R. Stretch, John F. Thompson, Robyn P. M. Saw
Summary: This study found that recurrence after surgical resection of a first ITM was common, with different patterns of recurrence depending on the anatomical site. Lower limb ITMs were more likely to have further ITM recurrences, associated with longer distant recurrence-free survival, while head and neck ITMs were more common to have distant metastasis and worse survival.
ANNALS OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Hanna Wesslau, Anders Carlander, Lars Ny, Fredrik Warnberg, Roger Olofsson Bagge, Ann-Sophie Lindqvist Bagge
Summary: This study investigated the association between sex, age, tumor burden, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in treatment-naive melanoma patients with in-transit metastases (ITM). The results showed that female sex and having more than 10 tumors were significantly associated with lower HRQOL in patients with ITM.
Article
Oncology
Georgia M. Beasley, Smita K. Nair, Norma E. Farrow, Karenia Landa, Maria Angelica Selim, Carol Ann Wiggs, Sin-Ho Jung, Darell D. Bigner, Andrea True Kelly, Matthias Gromeier, April K. S. Salama
Summary: In a phase I trial of intratumoral PVSRIPO in patients with unresectable melanoma, the treatment was well tolerated with promising antitumor activity, showing no serious adverse events reported and achieving an objective response rate of 33%, with some patients experiencing complete response in both injected and uninjected lesions.
JOURNAL FOR IMMUNOTHERAPY OF CANCER
(2021)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Virginia Liberini, Michael Messerli, Lars Husmann, Ken Kudura, Hannes Grunig, Alexander Maurer, Stephan Skawran, Erika Orita, Daniele A. Pizzuto, Desiree Deandreis, Reinhard Dummer, Joanna Mangana, Daniela Mihic-Probst, Niels Rupp, Martin W. Huellner
Summary: BSREM detects significantly more ITM than OSEM, with higher SUVmax, higher TBR, and less blurring. BSREM is particularly helpful in small and less avid lesions, which are more often missed with OSEM.
EUROPEAN RADIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Noah Tsarovsky, Mildred Felder, Mackenzie Heck, Jacob Slowinski, Kayla Rasmussen, Sabrina Vandenheuvel, Jen Zaborek, Zachary S. Morris, Amy K. Erbe, Paul M. Sondel, Alexander L. Rakhmilevich
Summary: This study found that cyclophosphamide can enhance the antitumor efficacy of the hu14.18-IL2 immunocytokine, especially when combined with local radiotherapy. The results showed that the combined treatment decreased T regulatory cells and increased the ratio of CD8+ cells/T regulatory cells within tumors. Furthermore, the combination treatment also resulted in a systemic antitumor effect on untreated tumors. Given these findings, the combination of cyclophosphamide, radiotherapy, and immunocytokines shows potential benefit in clinical testing.
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Anne Zaremba, Manuel Philip, Jessica C. Hassel, Valerie Glutsch, Zeno Fiocco, Carmen Loquai, David Rafei-Shamsabadi, Ralf Gutzmer, Jochen Utikal, Sebastian Haferkamp, Lydia Reinhardt, Katharina C. Kaehler, Carsten Weishaupt, Alvaro Moreira, Kai-Martin Thoms, Tabea Wilhelm, Claudia Pfoehler, Alexander Roesch, Selma Ugurel, Lisa Zimmer, Nadine Stadtler, Antje Sucker, Felix Kiecker, Lucie Heinzerling, Friedegund Meier, Frank Meiss, Max Schlaak, Bastian Schilling, Susanne Horn, Dirk Schadendorf, Elisabeth Livingstone
Summary: Cutaneous melanoma with in-transit metastases (ITM) remains a significant clinical challenge. This study retrospectively evaluated 191 patients with initially unresectable stage III ITM and satellite metastases, finding that patients without distant progression were more often female, older, and had a primary melanoma on the leg. Response to PD-1 inhibitors was lower than expected, indicating the need for further investigation into the biology of ITM development and immune system interactions.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2021)
Article
Dermatology
Sharmeen Chagani, Mariana P. De Macedo, Fernando Carapeto, Feng Wang, Diego M. Marzese, Khalida Wani, Lauren E. Haydu, Weiyi Peng, Giang T. Ong, Sarah E. Warren, Joseph M. Beechem, Dave S. B. Hoon, Gordon B. Mills, Michael T. Tetzlaff, Alexander J. Lazar, Lawrence N. Kwong, Michael A. Davies
Summary: Loss of PTEN protein expression in melanoma is associated with increased cancer aggressiveness, decreased tumor immune infiltration, and resistance to immune and targeted therapies.
JOURNAL OF INVESTIGATIVE DERMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Amanda Nijhuis, David Chung, Kevin London, Roger Uren, John Thompson, Omgo Nieweg
Summary: This study assessed the value of ultrasound examination in detecting additional ITMs in melanoma patients, revealing that ultrasound was able to identify extra lesions in over half of the patients and influenced management in one-third of cases.
ANNALS OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ying Zhang, Md Mahfuzur Rahman, Paul A. Clark, Raghava N. Sriramaneni, Thomas Havighurst, Caroline P. Kerr, Min Zhu, Jamie Jones, Xiuxiu Wang, KyungMann Kim, Shaoqin Gong, Zachary S. Morris
Summary: The in situ vaccine effect of radiation therapy (RT) is limited. To overcome this, researchers combined intratumoral injection of a multifunctional nanoparticle (PIC) and IL2 with the radiated site. This combination improved the immunomodulation of the irradiated tumor microenvironment and enhanced the activation of tumor-infiltrating T cells, leading to improved systemic anti-tumor T cell immunity. In murine tumor models, the PIC+IL2+RT combination showed superior tumor response compared to single or dual treatments. This strategy also activated tumor-specific immune memory and improved abscopal effects.
Article
Oncology
Julia Eckardt, Christopher Schroeder, Peter Martus, Sorin Armeanu-Ebinger, Olga Kelemen, Axel Gschwind, Irina Bonzheim, Thomas Eigentler, Teresa Amaral, Stephan Ossowski, Olaf Riess, Lukas Flatz, Claus Garbe, Andrea Forschner
Summary: BRAF mutation status and tumor mutational burden (TMB) were found to be independent predictive factors for relapse-free survival (RFS) in melanoma patients receiving adjuvant anti-PD-1 therapy. Patients with BRAF V600E/K mutation and high TMB had the best outcomes. A classification based on BRAF mutation status and TMB is proposed to predict RFS in these patients.
JOURNAL OF CANCER RESEARCH AND CLINICAL ONCOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Jeffrey S. Weber, Dirk Schadendorf, Michele Del Vecchio, James Larkin, Victoria Atkinson, Michael Schenker, Jacopo Pigozzo, Helen Gogas, Stephane Dalle, Nicolas Meyer, Paolo A. Ascierto, Shahneen Sandhu, Thomas Eigentler, Ralf Gutzmer, Jessica C. Hassel, Caroline Robert, Matteo S. Carlino, Anna Maria Di Giacomo, Marcus O. Butler, Eva Munoz-Couselo, Michael P. Brown, Piotr Rutkowski, Andrew Haydon, Jean-Jacques Grob, Jacob Schachter, Paola Queirolo, Luis de la Cruz-Merino, Andrew Haydon, Jean-Jacques Grob, Jacob Schachter, Paola Queirolo, Luis De La Cruz-Merino, Andre van der Westhuizen, Alexander M. Menzies, Sandra Re, Tuba Bas, Veerle de Pril, Julia Braverman, Daniel J. Tenney, Hao Tang, Georgina Long
Summary: The CheckMate 915 trial compared adjuvant nivolumab plus ipilimumab with nivolumab alone in patients with resected melanoma. The study found that there was no significant difference in recurrence-free survival between the two treatment groups.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Dermatology
Saskia Maria Schnabl, Claus Garbe, Helmut Breuninger, Vincent Walter, Valentin Aebischer, Julia Eckardt, Franziska Carola Ghoreschi, Hans-Martin Haefner, Alexander Scheu
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the risk of systemic side effects in elderly patients undergoing skin tumour surgery with tumescent local anaesthesia. The results showed that skin tumour surgery using tumescent local anaesthesia is safe for elderly patients and avoids complications caused by general anaesthesia. The incidence of systemic complications is low and is usually caused by pre-existing diseases and perioperative excitement, which can be rapidly detected and treated through monitoring.
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY AND VENEREOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Stefanie Meyer, Lorenz Buser, Sebastian Haferkamp, Mark Berneburg, Tim Maisch, Monika Klinkhammer-Schalke, Armin Pauer, Thomas Vogt, Claus Garbe
Summary: By studying 439 patients with early-stage cutaneous melanoma, a new 7-biomarker signature was found to independently predict disease-free survival, melanoma-specific survival, and overall survival, regardless of AJCC classification. This 7-biomarker signature provides valuable complementary information to clinicopathological and demographic factors, improving the accuracy of prognosis for melanoma patients.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Paolo A. A. Ascierto, Christian Blank, Alexander M. M. Eggermont, Claus Garbe, Jeffrey E. E. Gershenwald, Omid Hamid, Axel Hauschild, Jason J. J. Luke, Janice M. M. Mehnert, Jeffrey A. A. Sosman, Hussein A. A. Tawbi, Mario Mandala, Alessandro Testori, Corrado Caraco, Iman Osman, Igor Puzanov
Summary: The Great Debate session at the 2022 Melanoma Bridge congress featured leading experts arguing two sides of five prominent topics in melanoma management. The debates covered choices between LAG-3 therapy or ipilimumab combined with PD-1 therapy, the acceptability of PD-1 monotherapy as a comparator arm in clinical trials, the usefulness of adjuvant treatment, the role of adjuvant therapy in stage II melanoma, and the continued role of surgery in melanoma treatment. The speakers' opinions did not necessarily align with their personal views, and the audience voted before and after each debate.
JOURNAL OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Claus Garbe, Reinhard Dummer, Teresa Amaral, Rodabe N. Amaria, Paolo A. Ascierto, Elizabeth M. Burton, Brigitte Dreno, Alexander M. M. Eggermont, Axel Hauschild, Christoph Hoeller, Roland Kaufmann, Celeste Lebbe, Mario Mandala, Alexander M. Menzies, David Moreno, Olivier Michielin, Paul Nathan, Sapna P. Patel, Caroline Robert, Dirk Schadendorf, Paul C. Lorigan, Richard A. Scolyer, Hussein A. Tawbi, Bart A. van de Wiel, Christian Blank, Georgina V. Long
Summary: Individuals with cutaneous melanoma who receive neoadjuvant immunotherapy demonstrate significant improvement, which should be included in standard care.
Editorial Material
Dermatology
Claus Garbe, Holger Reimann
AKTUELLE DERMATOLOGIE
(2023)
Editorial Material
Dermatology
Claus Garbe, Holger Reimann
AKTUELLE DERMATOLOGIE
(2023)
Article
Dermatology
Julia Huynh, Ulrike Leiter, Claus Garbe, Galina Shiderova, Vincent Walter, Thomas Eigentler, Alexander Scheu, Hans-Martin Haefner, Saskia Maria Schnabl
Summary: This study investigated the use of sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with lentigo maligna melanoma and tumor thickness ≥1 mm. The results showed that sentinel lymph nodes were positive in 12.7% of cases. There was no significant difference in distant metastasis-free survival and overall survival between patients with and without sentinel lymph node biopsy.
JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY AND VENEREOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Oncology
Jessica C. Hassel, Lisa Zimmer, Thomas Sickmann, Thomas K. Eigentler, Friedegund Meier, Peter Mohr, Tobias Pukrop, Alexander Roesch, Dirk Vordermark, Christina Wendl, Ralf Gutzmer
Summary: Immune checkpoint blockade has improved outcomes for melanoma patients, but resistance to PD-1 therapy remains a challenge. This review assesses the definitions and mechanisms of resistance to PD-1 immunotherapy and discusses therapeutic options for resistant melanoma patients. It also highlights the importance of clinical trials for overcoming resistance.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Felix Peisen, Annika Gerken, Alessa Hering, Isabel Dahm, Konstantin Nikolaou, Sergios Gatidis, Thomas K. Eigentler, Teresa Amaral, Jan H. Moltz, Ahmed E. Othman
Summary: This study found that the combination of radiomics and clinical parameters did not provide additional information compared to the use of only clinical parameters in predicting the best response, progression-free survival after six months, and overall survival after six and twelve months in patients with stage IV malignant melanoma undergoing first-line targeted therapy.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Johannes Schwenck, Dominik Sonanini, Dominik Seyfried, Walter Ehrlichmann, Gabriele Kienzle, Gerald Reischl, Pascal Krezer, Ian Wilson, Ron Korn, Irene Gonzalez-Menendez, Leticia Quintanilla-Martinez, Ferdinand Seith, Andrea Forschner, Thomas Eigentler, Lars Zender, Martin Roecken, Bernd J. Pichler, Lukas Flatz, Manfred Kneilling, Christian la Fougere
Summary: This study investigated the feasibility of [Zr-89]Zr-Df-IAB22M2C positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in assessing the distribution of CD8(+) T cells in metastatic cancer patients. The results showed that only two out of eight patients undergoing immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy (ICT) exhibited increased tracer uptake in their metastatic lesions. Additionally, high uptake was observed in lymph nodes and bone marrow. We hypothesize that alterations in [Zr-89]Zr-Df-IAB22M2C uptake in lymphoid organs may be associated with the response to ICT.
Meeting Abstract
Dermatology
T. Sinnberg, H. Niessner, T. Amaral, T. Eigentler, C. Schroeder, E. S. Lindner, F. J. Hilke, I. Bonzheim, F. Fend, O. Riess, C. Garbe
EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Dermatology
H. Niessner, T. Sinnberg, T. Amaral, H. Suelberg, T. Eigentler, C. Garbe
EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Bilguun Nurzed, Andre Kuehne, Christoph Stefan Aigner, Sebastian Schmitter, Thoralf Niendorf, Thomas Wilhelm Eigentler
Summary: This study aims to investigate the feasibility of human cardiac MR at 14.0 T using high-density RF dipole transceiver arrays in conjunction with static and dynamic parallel transmission. The results show that both static and dynamic pTx can enhance transmission field uniformity and efficiency at 14.0 T. These findings provide a technical foundation for further exploration into CMR at 14.0 T.
MAGNETIC RESONANCE MATERIALS IN PHYSICS BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2023)