Melanoma patients still at higher risk for new malignancy after successful systemic immunotherapy

Reuters Health - 24/09/2020 - Patients successfully treated for metastatic melanoma with immune-checkpoint inhibitors remain at increased risk for developing new primary cutaneous melanoma, according to a new study. "The 5-year risk was nearly 5%," Dr. Michael A. Marchetti of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in New York City, told Reuters Health by email. "This implies that patients who respond to systemic treatments may benefit from continued primary and secondary prevention strategies." He and his colleagues examined data on more than 2,200 patients who were treated at their institution between 2003 and 2019. Patients received ipilimumab, nivolumab and/or pembrolizumab. Their mean age at the start of therapy was 62.5 years, and nearly two-thirds were men. The median duration of time from the first dose of immune-checkpoint inhibitor to the first new cutaneous melanoma, last follow-up, or death was 12.1 months, the researchers report in JAMA Dermatolo...

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Posted on 24 September, 202029 September, 2020