Patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma who were treated with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in a pivotal clinical trial showed superior and sustained time to disease progression when compared to those treated with Yervoy (ipilimumab). Among patients who discontinued treatment at two years, 91 percent were alive and without disease progression after a median follow-up of nearly 10 months. These results are from KEYNOTE-006 (NCT01866319), the Phase 3 study investigating Keytruda’s safety and efficacy relative to Yervoy in melanoma patients who were either treatment-naive or ..read more

Castle Biosciences presented three abstracts on the validity of using its 31-Gene Expression Profile (GEP) Test for melanoma prognosis at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2017 annual meeting June 2-6 in Chicago. The GEP test, also known as the DecisionDx-Melamona test, uses 31 genes from primary melanoma tissue to provide an assessment of individual risk of melanoma recurrence and metastasis. By studying the individual molecular signature of each tumor, this test can help physicians form an informed opinion on the prognosis of individual melanoma cases. The DecisionD ..read more

Biothera Pharmaceuticals will present the detailed study design of the IMPRIME-1 clinical trial at the upcoming 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting June 2-6 in Chicago. The trial is currently enrolling advanced melanoma or triple negative breast cancer patients to investigate the effects of combining Biothera’s Imprime PGG with the immune checkpoint inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab). A summary of the clinical trial design will be presented in a poster titled “A multicenter, open-label, phase II study of PGG beta-glucan and pembrolizumab in patients (pts) with advanced melanoma ..read more

A new study presents detailed information into the processes used by cancer cells to evade and resist the immune response. Researchers studied how the interferon gamma pathway guides cell signaling in melanoma cells by mapping the molecules and the interactions involved in the pathway. The new findings can represent a significant step in understanding the mechanism by which certain melanomas shield themselves from anti-PD1 treatment, such as Keytruda (pembrolizumab). The study, “Interferon Receptor Signaling Pathways Regulating PD-L1 and ..read more

A new clinical trial is underway assessing the addition of the first-in-class AXL kinase inhibitor, BGB324, to standard of care treatment for patients with advanced unresectable or metastatic melanoma. The Phase 1/2 clinical trial (NCT02872259) was announced by BerGenBio, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the role of AXL kinase in promoting cancer spread, cancer cell immune system evasion, and drug resistance. The study, sponsored by Haukeland University in Bergen, Norway, plans to enroll up to 92 patients with advanced melanoma from several N ..read more

Educating people of all ages, particularly children, about the dangers of sun exposure is urgent to preventing the increased prevalence of melanoma and skin cancer, the Skin Cancer Foundation reported in a press release. The foundation said that about 80% of lifetime ultraviolet (UV) exposure occurs before a child turns 18, and up to 90% of skin damage is caused by the sun. Over the past 30 years, more people have been diagnosed with skin cancer than all other cancers combined. About 90% of non-melanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to UV radiation from th ..read more

The first patient has been enrolled in Targovax‘s pilot clinical trial for advanced or unresectable melanoma patients whose cancer progressed after treatment with checkpoint inhibitors. The study is being conducted at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. The single center, Phase 1 ONCOS C824 study (NCT03003676) is evaluating the sequential administration of Targovax’s investigational drug ONCOS-102 followed by Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in 12 patients with advanced melanoma whose disease has progressed despite prior treatment with anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibito ..read more

The combination of ImmunoPulse IL-12 and the anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) soon will be tested in a Phase 2 trial for treatment of metastatic melanoma. The study, called PISCES, is part of a clinical trial collaboration between OncoSec Medical, which is ImmunoPulse IL-12’s manufacturer, and Merck. “We are honored to collaborate with Merck – one of the world’s leading cancer immuno-oncology companies – to help bring innovative cancer treatments to patients with unmet medical needs,” Punit Dhillon, CEO and president of OncoSec, said in a press release. The ImmunoPuls ..read more

Adding the small molecule MEK inhibitor binimetinib to the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib was safe and significantly prolonged the time to disease progression or death in patients with BRAF-mutant advanced, unresectable, or metastatic melanoma, compared to encorafenib alone, according to recent data from a Phase 3 trial. Data revealed by Array BioPharma shows that the combination treatment increases progression-free survival from 9.2 months to 12.9 months. The findings indicate that Part 2 of the COLUMBUS Phase 3 trial (NCT01909453) has met its primary endpoint. The company will be ..read more

The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance has announced the six winners of the fourth edition of the annual Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research, one of which is advancing research in the field of melanoma. The Pershing Square Prize is awarded annually to promising young scholars in New York City. Awardees receive $200,000 in funding per year for up to three years, for a total of $600,000 to support explorative, innovative research in different cancer fields. This year’s awards will be presented May 24. “The Pershing Square Sohn Prize invests in brilli ..read more