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Data from a national clinical trial shows that a striking 89% of patients with desmoplastic melanoma responded to immunotherapy (pembrolizumab) alone, suggesting that many patients could avoid the risk for toxicity from combination therapies and achieve cancer control with this approach to treatment. Desmoplastic melanoma is a subset of melanoma skin cancer that is caused by high levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation damage and, therefore, a high number of tumor mutations that all contribute to aggressive disease development and growth. "Not all melanomas are the same, and they don't respond to treatments in the same degree," said Kari Kendra, MD,...

In mice with melanoma, probiotic bacteria travel from the gut and establish in tumors, where they directly stimulate immune cells to make cancer immunotherapy more effective, according to a study. The study showed Lactobacillus reuteri stimulates cancer-killing T cells by secreting a compound called indole-3-aldehyde, or I3A. When the researchers gave mice a diet rich in the amino acid tryptophan—which the bacteria convert to I3A—immunotherapy drugs had a stronger effect on restraining tumor size and prolonging survival. Several recent studies have found a link between probiotic supplements and immunotherapy response in melanoma patients. Compared to control mice, those given L....

Patients with high-risk melanoma who received the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab both before and after surgery to remove cancerous tissue had a significantly lower risk of their cancer recurring than similar patients who received the drug only after surgery. "It's not just what you give, it's when you give it. The S1801 study demonstrates the same treatment for resectable melanoma given before surgery can generate better outcomes," Patel said. "In this case, we used the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab." The mechanism of action of immune checkpoint inhibitors such as pembrolizumab is often described as "taking the brakes off" the immune system's...

Immunotherapies have improved outcomes of many patients with cancer, including melanoma. But these therapies work for only a subset of patients. Numerous studies are looking at improving responses, including research focusing on enhancing tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). TILs are immune cells in tumors that can recognize and attack the cancer cells but often there aren't enough of them or they're unable to harness a strong enough response to durably suppress tumor growth and spread. Researchers, led by Eric Lau, Ph.D., have identified a relatively natural way to increase the numbers and antitumor activities of TILs. Lau's team demonstrates how L-fucose, a...

Fewer cases of melanoma were observed among regular users of vitamin D supplements than among non-users, a new study finds. People taking vitamin D supplements regularly also had a considerably lower risk of skin cancer, according to dermatologists. Vitamin D plays a key role in the normal function of the human body, and it may also play a role in many diseases. The link between vitamin D and skin cancers has been studied abundantly in the past, but these studies have mainly focused on serum levels of calcidiol. Findings from these studies have been inconclusive and even contradictory at times,...

A new multidrug treatment for patients with stage IV melanoma has proven effective after a three-year clinical trial. The study was aimed at overcoming the immune suppression that occurs in some patients with metastatic melanoma—skin cancer that has spread to organs like the lungs. "We know immunotherapy is effective, but it doesn't work for everybody. Sometimes the tumors suppress the immune system and prevent the immune reaction," says Martin McCarter, MD. "We are very interested in trying to overcome this immune suppression, and by studying our melanoma patients at the cancer center we identified a particular cell population, called myeloid-derived...

A customized Moderna Inc. vaccine combined with a Merck & Co. cancer drug helped ward off the recurrence of the skin cancer melanoma after surgery in patients in a mid-stage clinical trial, the companies said. The companies said Tuesday the combination of Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine and Merck’s Keytruda cancer immunotherapy reduced patients’ risk of relapse or death by about 44%, versus Keytruda alone, in the 150-volunteer study. The results, which the companies said were statistically significant but haven’t been reviewed by independent scientists, suggest promise for an emerging but unproven class of vaccines that aim to treat diseases rather...

Patients with high-risk stage III-IV melanoma who received pembrolizumab after their surgery reported a better quality of life than patients who received the previous standard-of-care treatment with either ipilimumab or high-dose interferon. Researchers on the trial had recently reported the primary clinical results which showed that patients on the study's pembrolizumab arm had a longer time before their disease recurred than patients on either of the other two treatments. The new quality-of-life findings come from a planned analysis of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) collected during the trial. The primary endpoint for the quality-of-life analysis was the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy—Biologic...

Vitamin D levels affect overall survival for melanoma (skin cancer) patients, a new study has shown. Dermatology researchers discovered that those who were deficient in vitamin D (lower than 10ng/mL) following their melanoma diagnosis were twice as likely (hazard ratio 2.3) to have lower overall survival than those with vitamin D levels equal/greater than 10ng/mL. The retrospective study analyzed a cohort of 264 patients with invasive melanoma from the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, to investigate whether vitamin D plays a protective role in melanoma survival. The study investigated the differences in overall survival and melanoma-specific survival between groups using statistical...

Researchers have discovered that treating patients who have late-stage treatment resistant melanoma with a combination of two existing drugs significantly increases their survival times. The drug repurposing trial focused on patients with end stage melanoma whose cancers had become resistant to frontline immunotherapy treatment, a class of drugs known as Immune Checkpoint Inhibiters (ICB). ICBs interfere with a cancer cells' ability to "hide" from the body's immune system allowing a patient's own body to fight cancer. The team found that by treating patients with a combination of two already approved chemotherapy drugs, Azacitidine and Carboplatin, they were able to re-sensitize...

Scientists analysed melanoma diagnosis rates among adults who ate the equivalent of 300g of any type of fish each week, including battered cod. They were compared against participants who consumed much less. Some even ate none. Results showed people who adhered official advice, which states a healthy diet includes at least two portions of fish a week, were up to a fifth more likely to get the cancer. Meanwhile, a separate US study found men consuming more than 430g of dairy per day — the equivalent of two cups of milk — are 25 per cent more likely to suffer...

Tumors from desmoplastic melanoma, a rare cancer most commonly found on the head or neck, can often be shrunk significantly before surgery by an immunotherapy known as PD-1 blockade, a result that may reduce the need for disfiguring surgery and radiation. "This study suggests that up-front treatment may spare some from disfiguring surgeries," said Dr. Kendra. Desmoplastic melanoma is a rare form of malignant skin cancer that occurs on sun-exposed areas of the body. It's a cancer in which local relapse is common, so the standard of care is surgery with wide excision margins followed by radiation therapy. These wide...

Patients with advanced melanoma whose cancer does not respond to treatment with widely used immunotherapy drugs known as PD-1 inhibitors are often switched to treatment with a second type of immunotherapy drug—a CTLA-4 inhibitor such as ipilimumab. New results from show that these patients are more likely to benefit from ipilimumab when it is given in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab than when given alone. Patients in the study who got an ipilimumab and nivolumab combination had longer progression-free survival (PFS) time than patients who were treated with ipilimumab alone (six-month PFS estimates of 34% vs 13%). The overall...

For patients with previously untreated metastatic or unresectable melanoma, the combination of relatlimab + nivolumab continues to demonstrate a progression-free survival (PFS) benefit over nivolumab alone, according to updated study results presented March 14 as part of the American Society for Clinical Oncology Plenary Series. Georgina V. Long, M.D., Ph.D., from the Melanoma Institute Australia at the University of Sydney, and colleagues randomly assigned patients with previously untreated metastatic or unresectable melanoma to receive either relatlimab + nivolumab or nivolumab alone, given intravenously every four weeks (355 and 359 patients, respectively). Patients were followed for a median of 19.3 months....

For years, surgery for patients with stage III melanoma—melanoma that has spread to the lymph nodes—involved removing those lymph nodes along with the primary tumor. Known as completion lymph node dissection (CLND), the surgery was meant to ensure that no cancer remained after surgery. More recently, however, cancer surgeons have discovered that CLND has the potential to cause more problems than it solves. In most cases, patients do better on immunotherapy alone than they do when their surgery involves removal of the lymph nodes, due to potential complications from lymph node surgery. Torphy, working with McCarter and the other researchers,...

Two NHL teams have combined to give ice hockey fan Nadia Popovici a $10,000 scholarship for medical school as a thank you for advising Vancouver Canucks assistant equipment manager Brian "Red" Hamilton to get a mole behind his neck checked out. Popovici was sitting behind Hamilton as she watched the Canucks play the Seattle Kraken on October 23. Unsure if Hamilton was aware of the mole, Popovici banged on the glass window to catch his attention and showed him a message she had typed on her phone. Following her advice, Hamilton did get the mole checked out and it proved...

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian scientists have discovered pineapple molecules can act as powerful anti-cancer agents and said the research could lead to a new class of cancer-fighting drugs. Scientists at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) said their work centred on two molecules from bromelaine, an extract derived from crushed pineapple stems that is used to tenderise meat, clarify beers and tan hides. One of the molecules, CCZ, stimulates the body's immune system to target and kill cancer cells, the other, CCS, blocks a protein called Ras, which is defective in 30 percent of all cancers. QIMR researcher Tracey...

GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4) – A team of scientists at the University of Northern Colorado believe venom from venomous snakes could carry the cure to cancer. Dr. Stephen Mackessy, professor at UNC’s School of Biology, says studies show venoms in different snakes can attack human cancer cells in unique ways. (credit: CBS) To conduct the study, Mackessy’s students are given access to hundreds of snakes from around the world, all of which are stored in a secured facility on the campus of UNC. From rattlesnakes to vipers, the students are able to extract venom from each snake to study the compounds...

Recent numbers released by the American Academy of Dermatology revealed a dramatic spike in the incidence of melanoma cases among young women. Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer, and for women aged 18-39, its rates have increased by 800% from 1970 to 2009. In Caucasian women under 44, the number of cases has increased by just over 6% annually. (1) Now, in addition to being the most dangerous, melanoma is one of the most common cancers in young adults (especially young women). More than 7,000 people in the United States are expected to die of melanoma in...

Kristina Baum, 37, had an inauspicious start to distance running: She signed up for her first race, the Army Ten Miler, back in 2006 with zero training. “I thought I might as well just show up and try it, and see as far I can get,” she tells Runner’s World. She ran eight miles without stopping and walked the last two. The physical after-effects were rough—she threw up twice, and was in pain for days—but finishing the race completely hooked her on running. So she started training, and ran the Houston Half Marathon in 2007 and 2009. But at the...