Article Details - Overview

Upon completion of this educational activity, you should be able to:

• Discuss current first-line therapies for the treatment of metastatic melanoma, including biochemotherapy
• Describe the safety and efficacy of CTLA-4–targeted monoclonal antibodies compared with standard chemotherapy as first-line therapy in metastatic melanoma
• Discuss the safety and efficacy of emerging targeted agents as first-line therapy in metastatic melanoma

Authors

Jose Lutzky, MD; Steven O’Day, MD

Overview and Purpose

The incidence of advanced metastatic melanoma is rising rapidly, and the care of these patients remains a challenge. Approved therapies in the first-line setting include a cytotoxic alkylating agent with no proven survival benefit and a cytokine that is associated with substantial toxicities and that provides durable clinical benefit in only a small proportion of patients who cannot be identified prior to treatment. New therapeutic options for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma are emerging based on recent insights into the role of immune system tolerance in disease progression and mechanisms underlying intrinsic tumor cell growth and proliferation. Antibodies to cytotoxic T-cell lymphocyte antigen (CTLA)-4 have demonstrated durable benefit in some patients with manageable toxicities. Small-molecule inhibitors of B-Raf and c-Kit have also demonstrated encouraging efficacy in patients with tumors harboring mutations in those proteins. Ongoing clinical trials continue to evaluate these and other therapeutic agents as first-line therapy for patients with metastatic melanoma.

The purpose of this activity is to inform physicians of recent developments in first-line therapy for patients with metastatic melanoma.

Target Audience

This publication is intended for medical oncologists involved in the care of patients with metastatic melanoma. No specific skills or knowledge other than a basic training in oncology is required for successful participation in this activity