Skin cancer trial results ‘exciting’

Posted 02/06/2014

The BBC reported today that the results of two international trials against advanced skin cancer have been hailed as “exciting and striking”.

Both treatments, for advanced melanoma, are designed to enable the immune system to recognise and target tumours. The experimental drugs, pembrolizumab and nivolumab, block the biological pathway cancers use to disguise themselves from the immune system.
Until a few years ago the average survival rate for advanced melanoma was around six months. In a trial of 411 patients evaluating pembrolizumab it was reported that 69% of patients survived at least a year.  Pembrolizumab is also being tested against other tumour types which use the same mechanism to block attack from the immune system.

The other drug, nivolumab, was tested in combination with an existing licensed immunotherapy, ipilimumab. In a trial of 53 patients, survival was 85% after one year, and 79% after two years.

Sophie Bales, a medical injury solicitor at Ashtons Legal, comments: “These are exciting developments in the treatment of advanced melanoma, which is notoriously difficult to treat. However, caution still needs to be exercised at this stage as the results are of early trials and further trials are now underway.

There also needs to be more awareness regarding symptoms of skin cancer so that early diagnosis can be made. It is essential that patients check their skin regularly and go to their doctor as soon as they notice any skin changes. If melanoma is diagnosed at its early stages and before it spreads to other areas of the body, it is easier to treat and survival rates are better. Therefore, vigilance of patients and their GPs, is imperative in the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancer. ”