Highlights from Melanoma International Congress

Tuesday December 6, 2011

Highlights from Melanoma International Congress: Topics reflect “Advancement through Collaboration” theme

“Advancement through Collaboration,” the theme of the Society for Melanoma Research (SMR) meeting, held as part of the recent Melanoma International Congress, was reflected in the presentations, according to three summaries published by the editors of CancerNetwork.

The first summary focuses upon “a major hot topic of the meeting”, which was the study of the mechanisms of resistance to vemurafenib. In their summary, the authors feature the key findings presented on pre-clinical research on mechanisms of resistance. In two examples given, the findings offer a potential clinical approach to overcome resistance. Based upon these and other published findings, the authors argue that “rather than going on a ‘fishing expedition’, researchers now have the tools to create hypothesis-driven models of melanoma resistance in the laboratory”.

In a second summary article, the CancerNetwork editors provide an update on targeted therapy trials presented at the congress. These include a phase IIA BREAK-2 trial of GSK2118436 (GSK436) and an update on a phase I/ II study of the combination GSK436 plus GSK212.

In the third article, the editors focus on immunotherapy - a topic that, in their view, is “finally getting the cancer clinical and research community excited”. While acknowledging that the focus upon ipilimumab continues, the authors describe the “anticipated excitement” about an antibody called anti-PD1, which is a novel immunotherapy currently in early development. They also highlight the emphasis given to a multi-disciplinary approach to combining immunology agents and targeted treatments for melanoma.

Sources:

CancerNetwork Editors. Melanoma International Congress: Clinicians and Researchers Make Sense of Resistance Mechanisms http://www.cancernetwork.com/melanoma-skin-cancer/content/article/10165/1993432

CancerNetwork Editors. Updates From the Melanoma International Congress: Targeted Therapy Trials in Metastatic Melanoma http://www.cancernetwork.com/melanoma-skin-cancer/content/article/10165/1990521

Melanoma International Congress: Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy Combinations Touted
http://www.cancernetwork.com/melanoma-skin-cancer/content/article/10165/1996126