Skin Cancer

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted priority review to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of adults and children with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare skin cancer.

The FDA has approved the combination of the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib (Braftovi) and the MEK inhibitor binimetinib (Mektovi) for the treatment of patients with BRAF-mutant unresectable or metastatic melanoma, as detected by an FDA-approved test.

Surveillance of potentially cancerous skin lesions is key in early detection and treatment of the disease, which vastly improves outcomes.

The FDA has approved the combined use of dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) in the adjuvant setting for patients with BRAF V600E– or V600K–positive stage III melanoma following complete resection.

The FDA has granted a priority review to a biologics license application (BLA) for cemiplimab, a PD-1 inhibitor, for use in the treatment of patients with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) or patients with locally advanced CSCC who are not eligible for surgery.

Incidences of merkel cell carcinoma, a rare skin cancer, increased 95% between 2000 and 2013, and are expected to rise further in the future due to the aging US population.

Adjuvant pembrolizumab reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 43% in patients with resected, high-risk stage III melanoma, results from phase III of the EORTC 1325-MG/KEYNOTE-054 trial showed.

BLU-667 appeared to be well-tolerated and had broad clinical benefit among patients with advanced, RET-altered solid tumors who progressed on prior therapies, according to study findings from a phase I clinical trial presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2018.

Behavioral counseling interventions are of moderate benefit in increasing sun protection behaviors in children, adolescents, and young adults with fair skin types.

The FDA has approved a supplemental biologics license application to add a 4-week dosing schedule for nivolumab (Opdivo) across several of the PD-1 inhibitor’s indications.

Many adolescent and young adult (AYA) survivors of cancer end up "lost to follow-up," according to recent research. Nurses charged with patient education should take heed, and be sure to stress the importance of follow-up care to their AYA patients and their families.

Patients whose cancers have metastasized to the brain or central nervous system are often excluded from clinical trials, but now, new guidelines may help researchers identify appropriate clinical trials in which these people may be included.

Researchers have recently discovered that immunotherapy agents have potential to effectively treat desmoplastic melanoma, even though the dense tissue associated with this rare cancer would seem to preclude it.

The common skin cream fluorouacil 5%, when applied for 2 to 4 weeks, has been shown to reduce the risk for squamous cell carcinoma for up to a year, according to a study published in JAMA Dermatology.

The FDA has granted priority review to a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for use of dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) in combination as an adjuvant treatment for patients with BRAFV600E– or V600K–positive stage III melanoma following complete resection.

Nivolumab (Opdivo) is now approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an adjuvant treatment for patients with completely resected melanoma with lymph node involvement or metastatic disease.

Neoadjuvant treatment with the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) demonstrated almost a tripling in objective response rate (ORR) compared with the PD-1 inhibitor alone but at the cost of significant added grade 3 adverse events (AEs) for patients with high-risk resectable melanoma, according to a small study presented at the 2017 SITC Annual Meeting.

Overall, 159 of the 427 tanning salons were out of compliance, and most of them were in rural locations and southern regions of the United States. Additionally, this was more common in independently owned salons, in states with younger age groups being regulated and in states with more than one tanning regulation.

Jason Luke, MD, assistant professor at the University of Chicago Medicine, discusses what he hopes the future of advanced melanoma treatment will look like.

The FDA has awarded the combination of dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) a breakthrough therapy designation for the adjuvant treatment of patients with stage III melanoma with a BRAF V600 mutation following complete resection.

On October 10, 2017, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) posted a draft recommendation statement on education about skin cancer prevention.

Confusion about sunscreen options and ingredients can lead to inadequate sun protection and increased skin cancer risk. The Environmental Working Group has resources to help.

The FDA has approved ipilimumab (Yervoy) for the treatment of patients aged ≥ 12 years with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

The immunotherapy agent, avelumab (Bavencio) is the first drug to receive approval to treat Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), a rare form of skin cancer. Carrie Best was the first patient to enroll in a clinical trial of avelumab, the first to receive the drug for Merkel cell carcinoma, and the first to become cancer-free.

Even if a patient is being treated for melanoma, they should still be getting examined for new primary melanomas, as well as skin-related adverse events.

For patients with high-risk melanoma, the best option is effective adjuvant therapy which necessitates clincal trials.

The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) does not agree with the need for yearly full-body skin exams, which many healthcare providers support.

Increasing awareness of the dangers of sun exposure involves not only patient and caregiver education, but also nurses setting a positive example themselves.

The Environmental Working Group has issued published its 11th annual guide including information on beach and sport sunscreens, moisturizers and lip products containing Sun Protection Factor (SPF).

Overall survival for patient with cutaneous melanoma was significantly lower for non-white patients, indicating a need for more emphasis on screening and awareness in these populations.