Neoadjuvant immunotherapy in melanoma – the new frontier
Abstract Neoadjuvant immunotherapy is gathering pace, particularly in melanoma. A recent study of pembrolizumab and HDI not only further supports the safety and activity of neoadjuvant anti-PD-1 based immunotherapy but also highlights neoadjuvant therapy as a solid platform for drug development that is likely to become a standard-of-care in the near future. Read Full Paper
Melanoma with osseous or chondroid differentiation: a report of eight cases including SATB2 expression and mutation analysis.
Abstract Melanoma can present with osteocartilaginous differentiation, however few reports exist on this rare subtype. We present eight cases of melanoma with osteocartilaginous differentiation to highlight its clinical, pathological and molecular features. The cases showed no association with gender (5 males and 3 females) or age (range 23-84 years). Cases included both primary melanomas and distant metastases (6 and 2, respectively), with the majority arising from cutaneous sites (7/8) and the remaining case from a mucosal site. Tumour-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) score ranged from 0 to 3 (median 1), and 2/8 lesions had evidence of inflammatory changes or antecedent trauma. [...]
Pembrolizumab versus placebo as adjuvant therapy in completely resected stage IIB or IIC melanoma (KEYNOTE-716): a randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial
Abstract Background: Pembrolizumab prolongs progression-free and overall survival among patients with advanced melanoma and recurrence-free survival in resected stage III disease. KEYNOTE-716 assessed pembrolizumab as adjuvant therapy in patients with completely resected, high-risk, stage II melanoma. We report results from the planned first and second interim analyses for recurrence-free survival. Methods: In this double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 3 study, involving 160 academic medical centres and hospitals in 16 countries (Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA), patients aged 12 years or older with newly diagnosed, completely [...]
Pathological response and survival with neoadjuvant therapy in melanoma: a pooled analysis from the International Neoadjuvant Melanoma Consortium (INMC)
Alexander M. Menzies, Rodabe N. Amaria, Elisa A. Rozeman, Alexander C. Huang, Michael T. Tetzlaff, Bart A. van de Wiel, Serigne Lo, Ahmad A. Tarhini, Elizabeth M. Burton, Thomas E. Pennington, Robyn P. M. Saw, Xiaowei Xu, Giorgos C. Karakousis, Paolo A. Ascierto, Andrew J. Spillane, Alexander C. J. van Akkooi, Michael A. Davies, Tara C. Mitchell, Hussein A. Tawbi, Richard A. Scolyer, Jennifer A. Wargo, Christian U. Blank & Georgina V. Long. Nat Med (2021).
Melanoma recurrence patterns and management after adjuvant targeted therapy: a multicentre analysis.
Abstract Background: Adjuvant targeted therapy (TT) improves relapse free survival in patients with resected BRAF mutant stage III melanoma. The outcomes and optimal management of patients who relapse after adjuvant TT is unknown. Methods: Patients from twenty-one centres with recurrent melanoma after adjuvant TT were included. Disease characteristics, adjuvant therapy, recurrence, treatment at relapse and outcomes were examined. Results: Eighty-five patients developed recurrent melanoma; nineteen (22%) during adjuvant TT. Median time to first recurrence was 18 months and median follow-up from first recurrence was 31 months. Fifty-eight (68%) patients received immunotherapy (IT) or TT as 1st line systemic therapy at either first [...]