In a nutshell The objective of this paper was to determine how skin cancer patients with tumor thickness of > 4mm could benefit from a diagnostic procedure known as sentinel lymph node biopsy. Some background Melanoma is a type of cancer that starts in color-producing cells of the skin. It can grow deep into the inner layers of skin...
Read MoreIn a nutshell The authors aimed to determine long-term survival in advanced skin cancer patients treated with ipilimumab. Some background Advanced melanoma is skin cancer that has spread deep within the skin to other sites of the body. There are limited treatments available for advanced skin cancer and patients have poor five-year survival...
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In a nutshell The authors aimed to determine the effect of nivolumab in treating malignant skin cancer. Some background Nivolumab (Opdivo) is a man-made immune cell made to attack a specific disease that has been approved for treating malignant skin cancer (cancer that has spread throughout the body). Nivolumab functions by attaching to a...
Read MoreIn a nutshell The authors aimed to determine the safety profile of vemurafenib in patients with BRAFV600 mutated metastatic melanoma with few treatment options remaining. Some background BRAF (protein in the body that controls cell growth) mutations are one of the key factors that lead to melanoma development. In particular, BRAFV600 (a...
Read MoreIn a nutshell The authors aimed to determine survival and response rates of patients treated with immunotherapy following regional chemotherapy. Some background Regional chemotherapy is chemotherapy that targets a specific area in the body. It is carried out using isolated limb infusion (isolates blood flow to the limb to allow for a more...
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In a nutshell The authors aimed to determine whether diphencyprone could be used as a topical treatment in cutaneously metastatic melanoma. Some background Metastatic (spread of the cancer) melanoma is typically treated with topical and intralesional immunotherapies (restore or enhance the immune systems ability to fight). Topical therapy is...
Read MoreIn a nutshell The current study examined long-term response and survival among advanced melanoma patients treated with the immunotherapy agent nivolumab. Some background Immunotherapies can stimulate the immune system to identify and destroy cancer cells, much in the same way it would fight invaders such as bacteria or viruses. Some cancer cells,...
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In a nutshell This article provides an overview of the new treatment guidelines for early invasive breast cancer as set by the 2013 St. Gallen Consensus. Some background The St. Gallen Consensus of 2011 offered the current guidelines for the treatment of early-stage breast cancers. Recently, an expert panel of 51 physicians and scientists convened...
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In a nutshell This review explored recent evidence regarding chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy following treatment with different types of chemotherapeutic agents. Some background Chemotherapy, often used in the treatment of cancer, is well-known for its short-term toxic side-effects such as nausea or hair loss. However, symptoms of...
Read MoreIn a nutshell This review examined the use of intralesional injections to deliver immunotherapy in the treatment of melanoma patients. Some background Immunotherapy is a therapeutic approach which stimulates the immune system to respond against cancer cells in the same way the body would normally fight an invading virus or bacteria. For example,...
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In a nutshell This study investigated the effect of a combined therapy of aspirin and clopidogrel on circulating tumor cells in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Some background Circulating tumor cells or CTC (cancer cells that have migrated from the tumor and are circulating in the blood stream) are known to play an important role in the...
Read MoreIn a nutshell This article evaluated lymph node ratio (LNR) as a prognostic factor for stage III melanoma patients. Some background Melanoma often spreads beyond the original tumor site. Once cancer cells spread to nearby lymph nodes (these are referred to as cancer-positive lymph nodes) the disease is categorized as stage III melanoma, which...
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