Posts by tag
melanoma
Radiotherapy prior to immunotherapy is the best treatment sequence for melanoma related brain metastases
Patients with melanoma related brain metastases achieve reduced risk of progression and better overall survival if they receive radiotherapy before immunotherapy as opposed to the other way round. The meta-analysis study, abstract RADT-04, presented at the Society of Neuro Oncology…
Is yours a beach-ready body? Dietary tips to lower your risk of melanoma
“Did you remember to bring the sunscreen?” Public awareness of the need to protect against the risk of melanoma from excessive exposure to UV rays from the sun has risen dramatically over recent decades. ‘Bringing the sunscreen’ is now a…
Rise in initiation of immunotherapy at the end of life
Immunotherapy is increasingly being initiated in the month prior to death in patients with stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer, melanoma, and renal cell carcinoma. The US study, published in JAMA Oncology, online January 4, showed the practice was more common…
Dichloroacetate shows promise in treating cancer-related fatigue
Dichloroacetate, a drug targeting the metabolism, helped alleviate cancer related fatigue in mouse models of melanoma and colon cancer, reports a study published in the American Journal of Physiology Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2 October. “This study tackles the long-understudied conundrum of…
Personalised RNA vaccine combined with immune checkpoint inhibitor shows efficacy in melanoma
In advanced melanoma, adding a personalised mRNA-based vaccine to the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab improved recurrence-free survival compared with pembrolizumab alone. The KEYNOTE-942 study (presentation number CT001), presented at the AACR (American Association for Cancer Research) Annual Meeting 2023, held…
Harmful bacteria play greater role in predicting outcomes of immune checkpoint blockade in melanoma
Harmful gut bacteria may play a greater role than beneficial bacteria in determining efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade in melanoma patients. The study, published in Nature Medicine (28 February), found microbial signatures containing Lachnospiraceae species were connected to favourable anti-programmed…
High-fibre diets associated with improved melanoma immunotherapy response
Melanoma patients eating greater quantities of fibre-rich foods at the start of checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy survive longer than patients with insufficient dietary fibre intake. The observational study, published in Science (23 December 2021), reports benefits to be most noticeable among…
Antihistamines could improve efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors
Over-the-counter antihistamines appear to improve outcomes for cancer patients treated with checkpoint inhibitors. The study, reported in Cancer Cell (published online 24 November), found that melanoma and lung cancer patients taking antihistamines targeting the H1 receptor during anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment achieved…
Artificial intelligence for skin cancer diagnosis, from science-fiction to reality
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a hot topic in many sciences, including medicine. A machine capable of making a medical diagnosis in full autonomy is fascinating and highly attractive. “Many years ago, in the movie Star Trek, the spaceship’s doctor diagnosed…