ASCO 2017 | Immunotherapy updates for melanoma from ASCO 2017

Georgina V. Long, BSc, PhD, MBBS, FRACP, of the University of Sydney, Australia, gives a summary of the updates on immunotherapies in melanoma, which were presented from the ASCO 2017 meeting.
Data presented at ASCO on immunotherapies has shown great results. Prof. Long highlights the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab for the treatment of active melanoma brain metastases (MBM) with a response of 50% and a progression-free survival (PFS) of 46% at 6 months and 12 months.
Another important topic presented at ASCO was how circulating free DNA measurements can help predict whether a patient will respond to immune therapy long before a scan. Prof. Long explains that a drop in circulating free DNA from the tumor suggests a patient will respond well to and can continue treatment.
Furthermore, long-term data of immune therapies, such as fom the KEYNOTE-006 Phase III trial, have shown very good results (NCT01866319).
Prof. Long further explains that the field is moving forward with new trials for immune therapies in the neoadjuvant setting.
Recorded at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2017 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL.