Skin Cancer

Novartis announces their phase 3 study investigating spartalizumab (PDR001) in combination with dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) failed to meet its primary endpoint.

Recruiting is ongoing for an investigator-initiated clinical trial of pembrolizumab in clinical stage 2B/C melanoma which will investigate the effects of treatment with pembrolizumab before surgery to remove melanoma on the rate of positive sentinel lymph nodes in patients with stage IIB/C melanoma.

Leveraging artificial intelligence as an assistive tool could open up opportunities for streamlining melanoma diagnosis, expanding practice scope, and enhancing patient care.

The International Skin Imaging Collaboration is an academic and industry partnership designed to facilitate the clinical application of digital skin imaging, with an initial focus on melanoma. The group is developing standards for dermatologic imaging and building a public archive of clinical and dermoscopic images for use in developing artificial intelligence diagnostic algorithms.

Findings from a survey of college students examining beliefs about UV exposure and sunscreen use and their associations with skin cancer risk and UV protective behaviors provide some insights for patient counseling.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved atezolizumab plus cobimetinib and vemurafenib for treatment of BRAF V600 mutation-positive advanced melanoma. Studies show the combination treatment prolonged patients’ lives by 15 months without disease worsening.

Findings of initial studies and call for further testing should not be misconstrued to mean ingredients are unsafe.

A recently published pooled 10-year analysis shows pembrolizumab demonstrates long-term survival benefits for advanced melanoma patients regardless of BRAF V600E/K mutation status or history of BRAFi, with or without MEKi therapy.

In this video, Hema Sundaram, MA, MD, FAAD, highlights important safety considerations to keep in mind regarding laser-assisted drug delivery.

With summer in full swing, this episode takes a look at how social media can influence sun protection use in teens and young adults, and why certain ingredients in sunscreens are considered controversial.

If patients are concerned that sunscreen use may harm their health or the environment, physical sunscreens such as zinc oxide may provide the most reassurance, one expert says.

Patients may be afraid to use a sunscreen considering reports describing the potential for a variety of adverse effects. Physicians should seek a strong understanding of the evidence to discuss benefits and safety with patients and encourage proper sunscreen use.

In cancer immunotherapy, nanoparticles can be directed to different cells and tissues related to the immune response. This technology is currently being investigated to enhance drug delivery in skin cancer therapy with the hope of promoting more robust antitumor effects and improved clinical outcomes.

Gene expression profiling (GEP) has the potential to improve melanoma prognostication, but shortcomings remain, one expert says.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved pembrolizumab for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma whose disease has shown to not be curable by radiation or surgery.

Researchers investigated the long-term efficacy of low-dose vismodegib in locally advanced basal cell carcinoma patients who achieved complete remission.

For nonaggressive basal cell carcinomas, laser therapy could be a practical treatment and management solution, according to the authors of a recent review.

Recognition of patients with hereditary melanoma is important not only because these individuals require careful surveillance for future primary melanomas, but also because they may be predisposed to multiple other types of malignancies because of their genetic mutation, says Hensin Tsao, M.D., Ph.D.

Recognition of patients with hereditary melanoma is important not only because these individuals require careful surveillance for future primary melanomas, but also because they may be predisposed to multiple other types of malignancies because of their genetic mutation, says Hensin Tsao, M.D., Ph.D.

A new energy-based device delivering ultrafast pulses of high amplitude electrical energy to nonthermally preferentially clear targeted cell rich lesions is proving to be a very useful treatment modality for a number of benign dermatologic lesions.

Results presented at the recent ASCO 2020 Virtual Scientific Program demonstrate the long-term relapse-free and survival benefit of dabrafenib (Tafinlar, Novartis) and trametinib (Mekinist, Novartis) as a combination treatment following surgery in stage III BRAF V600E/K-mutant melanoma patients.

A study from the University of Washington Medicine in Seattle pinpoints one of two lesions that can be attributed to UV light-caused skin cancer.

The epidermal growth factor (EGFR) inhibitor cetuximab achieved good outcomes in patients with advanced SCC, according to results of a recent study.

A recently published study in JAMA Dermatology showcases positive results for a face aging app’s effect on adolescent skin cancer protection behavior.

Immunotherapeutic agents have become an important treatment option for patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma