New and Emerging Treatments for Metastatic Melanoma

Karl Lewis, MD, medical oncologist, associate professor, University of Colorado, discusses new and emerging treatments for metastatic melanoma.

Lewis says the list of new and emerging treatments for metastatic melanoma has grown due to the tremendous advancements in the field over the last couple of years.

In the immunotherapy field, Lewis says, ipilimumab showed a survival advantage for the first time in patients with melanoma. Progress is also being made with the development of PD-1 antibodies and PD-1 ligand antibodies.

There have also been developments in molecular targeted therapies, Lewis says. Agents targeting the RAS/RAF pathway, BRAF inhibitors and MEK inhibitors are in development as well. Lewis thinks the combination of BRAF plus MEK inhibitors is exciting.

Clinical Pearls

• Advancements in the filed of metastatic melanoma has lead to a growing list of new and emerging treatments for the disease
• The immunotherapy ipilimumab has shown a survival advantage in patients with melanoma and progress is being made in the development of PD-1 and PD-1 ligand antibodies
• Targeted therapies, such as agents targeting the RAS/RAF pathway, BRAF inhibitors and MEK inhibitors are also being approved