New research suggests that for patients with melanoma that has spread to the abdomen, surgical removal of the tumor can extend survival.
The study was led by Dr. Gary Deutsch, now a surgical oncologist at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Great Neck, N.Y. His team tracked outcomes for 1,600 patients, treated at some point between 1969 and 2014.
The immunotherapeutic combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab prolonged PFS among patients with advanced melanoma regardless of age, presence of metastases or BRAF status, according to phase 3 study results presented at the European Cancer Congress.
The combination of dabrafenib (Tafinlar) plus trametinib (Mekinist) improved overall survival (OS) by 7.6 months compared with single-agent vemurafenib (Zelboraf) in patients with unresectable or metastatic BRAFV600E/K-mutant melanoma, according to a 2-year analysis of the phase III COMBI-v study presented at the 2015 European Cancer Congress.
A new study conducted by Mayo Clinic researchers, and recently presented at the American Association for Cancer Research International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference in New York City, highlights the correlation between the presence of a protein marker (Bim) and PD-1 blockade therapy, which may predict treatment success.
