Navigating Cancer’s co-founder and CEO Gena Cook attended the 2010 ASCO conference in Chicago, June 4 – 8. Below is her round up of the most interesting and notable research that was announced for melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Links provide more info on the ASCO website.
Ipilimumab Improves Survival for Patients with Metastatic Melanoma
At Sunday’s Plenary Session, a landmark study provided new data that have implications for changing clinical practice. Steven O’Day, MD, of the Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, reported that ipilimumab alone or in combination with vaccine increased overall survival (OS) in patients with unresectable stage III/IV melanoma for whom previous treatment had failed (Abstract 4).
Cetuximab May Improve Disease Control for Squamous Cell Carcinoma
In a phase II trial designed to evaluate single-agent cetuximab for treatment-naive patients with unresectable squamous cell carcinoma, a disease control rate of 69% at 6 weeks in an intent-to-treat population of 36 patients suggests that this may be “an interesting therapeutic option in this setting, especially for older patients,” Eva Maubec, MD, of Bichat University Hospital, France, said at Saturday’s Oral Abstract Session: Melanoma/Skin Cancers.