ADVANCES MADE IN TREATING CANCER BY STIMULATING THE BODY'S IMMUNE SYSTEM

Immunotherapy found to be effective against head and neck cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma

In a 1,200-word story, the Washington Post (4/19, McGinley) reports that “new immunotherapy drugs are showing significant and extended effectiveness against a broadening range of cancers, including rare and intractable tumors often caused by viruses.” According to the Post, “Researchers say these advances suggest the treatment approach is poised to become a critical part of the nation’s anti-cancer strategy.” Data from “two new studies” indicate “that the medications...are now having some effect against recurrent, difficult-to-treat head and neck cancer and an extremely lethal skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma.” Both studies were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. The research on Merkel cell carcinoma was also published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

        Meanwhile, TIME (4/19, Park) reports that research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that “pembrolizumab...may become an effective treatment that people with late-stage melanoma can try at any time in their disease – before or after other therapies including drugs or chemotherapy or radiation.”

SURGICAL MARGINS GREATER THAN 2 CM. DO NOT IMPROVE SURVIVAL IN MELANOMA

Excision Margins Don't Impact Melanoma Recurrence, SurvivalAlthough, sentinel lymph node involvement is tied to poor prognosis

MONDAY, April 11, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Wider excision margins in thick cutaneous melanoma cases do not improve locoregional recurrence or melanoma-specific survival (MSS), according to research published online March 25 in Head & Neck. Olivia Ruskin, M.B.B.S., from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues reviewed the records of 108 patients (median age, 71.1 years) treated at a single site for head and neck melanoma between 2002 and 2012 (median follow-up, 40 months). The authors sought to assess the impact of excision margins and sentinel lymph node status on locoregional recurrence and MSS. The researchers found that the median Breslow thickness was 6.0 mm and locoregional recurrence happened in 27 percent of cases. There was no significant reduction in recurrence with margins ≥2 cm (P = 0.17), and there was no survival improvement with increasing margins (P = 0.58). Of the 59 patients (55 percent) who underwent sentinel node biopsy, 27 percent were positive. Patients who were sentinel lymph node-negative had a trend toward longer survival (P = 0.097). "Wider margins do not significantly improve locoregional recurrence or MSS," the authors write. "Sentinel lymph node involvement reflects a poor prognosis."

IMPROVED SURVIVAL IN ADVANCED MELANOMA

 

More than one-third of advanced-melanoma patients given nivolumab in study are alive five years after starting treatment, researchers say

The Washington Post (4/17, Mcginley) reports in “To Your Health” that research indicated “more than a third of advanced-melanoma patients who received one of the new immunotherapy drugs in an early trial are alive five years after starting treatment – double the survival rate typical of the disease.” Investigators found “that 34 percent of patients with metastatic melanoma who received...nivolumab have survived.” The Post points out that “the five-year survival rate for patients with advanced melanoma who got other treatments was 16.6 percent between 2005 and 2011, according to the National Cancer Institute.” The findings were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.