metastatic melanoma tagged posts

Rick Spurr, surrounded by some of his grandchildren, was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma, which was discovered on his lungs while he was fighting off a bout of pneumonia. Credit: UT Southwestern

Individuals with certain types of bacteria in their gut may be more likely to respond well to cancer immunotherapy, researchers at the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center found in a study of patients with metastatic melanoma. The incidence of melanoma has been increasing over the past 40 years. Immunotherapies have dramatically improved the outlook for patients with metastatic melanoma in the past half-dozen years, but still only about half of these patients go into remission.

UT Southwestern cancer researchers analyzed the gut bacteria of 39 melanoma patients who were treated with imm...

A first-of-its-kind (anti-PD-1) immunotherapy was approved today by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration as first-line treatment for metastatic melanoma — allowing greater access to this therapy for patients without having to previously receive other prior treatments.

Co-developed by UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer member Dr. Antoni Ribas, the drug pembrolizumab has signaled a paradigm shift in the way melanoma is treated. The protein works by blocking the immune system’s brakes, thereby allowing its T cells to recognize and attack cancer cells.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) originally received accelerated approval by the FDA in 2014 for metastatic melanoma...

A three-drug nanoscale drug delivery system designed for preferential lymphatic uptake for the treatment of metastatic melanoma

A new 3-drug delivery system for cancer treatment, especially metastatic melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, has been developed by researchers. The work has demonstrated that the system may have particular value with cancers like this that often spread through the lymphatic system. It may offer a novel therapeutic option for more effective cancer treatment.

The new technology takes advantage of nanoparticles that can migrate to, and increase the effectiveness of an attack on cancer cells in the body’s lymph nodes. This can also reduce the development of drug resistance and the broader toxicity often associated with this type of chemotherapy.

“Melanoma has...