While malignant melanoma is responsible for nearly 1,600 deaths per year in France, new immunotherapy treatments could quickly come onto the market and bring hope to patients. This skin cancer, 90% associated with intense UV exposure and sunburn over the course of life, Doubled ten years since the mid-twentieth century.
Not easy to spot, despite the ABCDE rule (asymmetry-edges-color-dimension-evolution), the melanoma sometimes looks like a small mole, “but not always”, recalls the Figaro. Identified in most cases by a dermatologist or a general practitioner, the tumor is examined by biopsy. If the results confirm the presence of melanoma, another procedure to remove the cancer cells will be necessary.
A super resistant melanoma
If the patient often comes out with a recommendation for regular monitoring, it may happen that metastases appear years later, when cells have shifted before the tumor is removed. To limit this risk, when the melanoma exceeds one millimeter, doctors suggest analyzing the node closest to the tumor, called the “sentinel node”, and adapt the treatment in the event of an abnormality.
This is the case, metastatic melanoma, that researchers have been focusing on for years. Nicknamed the “drug killer” because it was resistant to all molecules, “it is today attacked from all sides”, explains Le Figaro. The drugs currently on the market are based on interferon, therefore quite toxic and not always effective. But new therapeutic targets give hope to specialists and patients.
Increase patient survival
“Three years ago theipilimumab has for the first time demonstrated a clear increase in the survival of these patients, with responses extended by three, five, or even ten years now for some patients. This anti-CTLA-4 antibody inhibits a receptor that slows down the immune response. But only 10% of patients respond to this immunotherapy and nothing makes it possible to predict which ones “, confides Professor Caroline Robert to the daily site.
After two other targeted therapies, vemurafinib and dabrafinib, two new immunotherapies, nivolumab and MK3475 should soon arrive in France, following a three-year trial. Research is progressing quickly, but this is not a reason to reduce the gestures of caution, remind the specialists. Protecting yourself from the sun and examining your skin every month are reflexes to remember.
