On February 16, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte cancer therapy for metastatic melanoma, lifileucel (Amtagvi™). Patients in the drug’s clinical trial experienced a significant decrease in tumor burden, and the median overall survival was 17.4 months.

On February 16, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to lifileucel (Amtagvi™), a tumor-derived autologous T-cell immunotherapy, for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma previously treated with a PD-1–blocking antibody and, if BRAF V600 positive, a BRAF inhibitor with or without a MEK inhibitor.

On August 14, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved melphalan (Hepzato™) for injection or hepatic delivery system (Hepzato Kit) containing melphalan as a liver-directed treatment for adult patients with uveal melanoma with unresectable hepatic metastases affecting less than 50% of the liver and no extrahepatic disease, or extrahepatic disease limited to the bone, lymph nodes, subcutaneous tissues, or lung that is amenable to resection or radiation.

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved tebentafusp-tebn (Kimmtrak®) in January 2022 as an orphan drug for unresectable or metastatic uveal melanoma in adults, it became the first—and only, at the time of this reference sheet’s publication—drug approved for the indication.

Poorer outcomes among males receiving BRAF or MEK inhibitors for melanoma may be related to an increase in androgen receptors, researchers discovered in study findings published in Nature.

Initial treatment with two monoclonal antibodies significantly improves survival for patients with BRAF V600-variant advanced melanoma compared to treatment with two targeted agents, researchers reported during the November 2021 ASCO Plenary Series meeting. The initial findings were so conclusive that the study’s data safety and monitoring board stopped the trial early.

Patients with melanoma who consume a high-fiber diet during treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) or anti-PD-1 therapy experience longer progression-free survival than those who don’t, researchers reported in Science. And probiotic supplementation, often considered a healthy behavior, reduces immunotherapy response.

On March 18, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved nivolumab and relatlimab-rmbw (Opdualag™) for adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years or older with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. Nivolumab and relatlimab-rmbw is a fixed-dose combination of the LAG-3–blocking antibody relatlimab and the programmed death receptor-1–blocking antibody nivolumab.

Completing up to a year of pembrolizumab immunotherapy after surgical resection of stage IIB or IIC melanoma decreases patients’ risk for disease recurrence or death by 35%, according to study findings presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology 2021 annual meeting. The new findings led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to expand its approval of pembrolizumab to use as adjuvant therapy in both adults and children aged 12 and older with early-stage melanoma.

The extra or missing chromosomes—also called aneuploidy—in 90% of cancer cells may be a factor in treatment resistance, a new study shows. Researchers reported the findings in Developmental Cell.

A dermatologist-performed total-body skin examination (TBSE) identifies more than two times the number of skin cancers than patients or other providers discovered, researchers reported in the International Journal of Women’s Dermatology. The cancers may otherwise have gone undiagnosed, leading to later-stage disease and poorer outcomes.

Using two agents that target two different receptors more than doubles length of survival for advanced melanoma than a single agent alone, researchers reported at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.

Cancer mortality for all racial and ethnic groups in the United States continues to decline, with death rates for lung cancer and melanoma decreasing faster than others, according to findings that the American Cancer Society (ACS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR) published in their July 2021 Annual Report to the Nation on the status of cancer.

More than 40% of patients with melanoma treated with nivolumab or pembrolizumab experience persistent long-term immune-related adverse events (irAEs) for at least 1.5 years, researchers reported in JAMA Oncology.

Breast, prostate, colorectal, and melanoma are the most common primary cancer sites among 58% of survivors. Advancements in immunotherapy and targeted therapies have significantly increased treatment options for a disease that once had very limited treatment options, markedly improving overall five-year survival rates for patients with melanoma. Yet survival rates vary depending on extent of disease (local versus metastatic) and ethnic minority disparities. Although the overall (all stages combined) five-year survival rate for White patients with melanoma is 93%, the rate drops to 87% for Hispanics and to just 23% for those with distant melanoma. 

Altering a patient's gut microbiome through fecal transplant improved response to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in 40% of patients with advanced melanoma who initially did not respond to the immunotherapy in a small, single-arm clinical trial. Researchers reported the findings in Science.

On July 30, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq^®) in combination with cobimetinib and vemurafenib for patients with BRAF V600 mutation-positive unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

Users of two common antihistamines—desloratadine and loratadine—have lower mortality rates from cutaneous malignant melanoma than patients who use other antihistamines, researchers reported in Allergy.

It is no coincidence that May is Melanoma Awareness Month. As Americans take to the great outdoors, they also must take caution to protect their skin and prevent melanoma.  

Incidence of melanoma in the head and neck areas increased 51.1% from 1995 to 2014, according to findings from a study published in JAMA Otolaryngology.

Two-year survival rates for patients with advanced melanoma increased quickly after the introduction of ipilimumab in 2011, according to an analysis published the journal Cancer.

A high-fiber diet leading to higher gut microbiome diversity may improve response to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy in patients with melanoma, according to the results of a new study presented at the 2019 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA. 

On February 15, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab for the adjuvant treatment of patients with melanoma with involvement of lymph node(s) following complete resection. 

Patients aged 62 and older are more likely to respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors for melanoma, such as pembrolizumab, according to findings from a study published in Clinical Cancer Research. A follow-up study showed that it may be because of age-related changes in the immune cells in melanoma tumors.

What does the “E” mean in the National Cancer Institute’s “ABCDE” tool for recognizing melanoma?

A. Extension

B. Evolution

C. Equal

D. Expand

A strain of Staphylococcus epidermis that’s common on healthy human skin may be protective against some types of skin cancer, according to findings from a study published in Science Advances.

I haven’t always been convinced of the importance of sun safety. In my younger years, I got more sunburns than I’d like to admit in an attempt to develop a tan. In college, I spent afternoons studying outside on a sunny quad with nothing more than shorts and a tank top for sun protection.

After decades of no new treatment options for advanced melanoma, several drugs for unresectable stage III and IV disease and recurrent melanoma have been approved, including newer classes of drugs such as checkpoint inhibitors (anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 drugs) and signal transduction inhibitors (BRAF, MEK, and KIT inhibitors). Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) must be familiar with these newer agents and classes of drugs, especially the mutations that guide their use.

Taking an intentional drug holiday may improve patients’ response to reintroduction of treatment in drug-resistant melanoma, according to the results of a study published in Cancer Discovery.

New targeted and immunotherapy drug approvals have offered improved survival and disease outcomes for patients with melanoma, but the new therapies are also associated with a range of adverse events (AEs) that differ from those associated with chemotherapy. Oncology nurses will need to shift their thinking to best manage those AEs.

With summer in full swing, it’s the perfect time to head outdoors and enjoy the sunny weather. But are you protecting yourself from potential risks? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has named July as Ultraviolet (UV) Safety Month. The goal is to spread the word about how important it is to protect everyone’s skin from the harmful effects of UV rays. This presents a teaching opportunity for oncology nurses and their patients—not just during July but all year long.

A combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab improved overall survival when compared to either drug alone, according to results from a recent study reported at the American Association for Cancer Research 2017 annual meeting.

Melanomas that resemble seborrheic keratosis (SK) can be challenging to diagnose correctly. SKs are often removed without being evaluated dermascopically or sent for pathologic analysis, risking the possibility of missing a diagnosis of SK-like melanoma. A new study published in JAMA Dermatology outlined the key dermascopic clues that clinicians can use to identify SK-like melanomas to prevent treatment delays and achieve the best patient outcomes.

As Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month, May is the perfect time to encourage people to examine their skin and seek medical assistance if they recognize signs of a melanoma. Early detection and prompt treatment is associated with a much higher survival rate for skin cancer diagnoses.

A study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention looking at the ultraviolet radiation exposure and sun protection behaviors among melanoma survivors found that many survivors have room for improvement.

Patients and healthcare providers are most likely to detect recurrence of early-stage melanoma based on symptom reports rather than routine imaging tests, according to the results of a study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.