Ipilimumab: Cohort 2 (Ocular) for Metastatic Melanoma

"The major signs of malignant melanoma include: 1 – the changes in size and size variation; 2 – the colour changes; 3 – the presence of telangiectases." - Anonymous Online Contributor

"Most causes suggested may have some role in melanoma development which has not yet been fully elucidated. Melanoma is thought to have a genetic component, although a large number of hereditary conditions are known. There are several genetic syndromes which may be linked to melanoma, although conclusive evidence is lacking. It has been recently suggested that ultraviolet rays may have a part in the formation of melanoma. Some hereditary conditions worsen cancer risk, including familial melanoma and melanoma-associated nevi and melanomas. The development of melanomas in people with these conditions may be associated with mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene, of which, many different mutations are known to cause cancer in individuals who inherited the mutated gene from their parents." - Anonymous Online Contributor

"Recent findings showed the prevalence of common treatment approaches for melanoma. All of these treatment approaches may be used concurrently or sequentially in the treatment of a melanoma patient. However, many of our patients undergo only topical treatment, indicating the need to increase patient education about the management of their benign tumors." - Anonymous Online Contributor

"About 12% of people in the US are at risk of getting melanoma a year at some point in their lives. The number of people diagnosed annually with melanoma is about 3,300 and the number of cancer-related deaths is about 10,000." - Anonymous Online Contributor

"Melanoma can not be cured. However, a large percentage (25/28) of stage III patients with a metastasis survived for four years or more. It therefore may be possible to delay death in many or possibly all patients." - Anonymous Online Contributor

"There are many definitions of melanoma and it may be a more accurate term used, and to be used when referring to patients with nevi. A better understanding of the clinical significance of nevi will help to refine the differential diagnosis of melanocytic nevi." - Anonymous Online Contributor

"Melanoma patients were found to have favorable survival rates after adjusting for several prognostic clinical factors, as well as other tumoral characteristics, which can be related to patient age and tumor location. We observed no overall improved survival for black melanoma patients after adjusting for racial disparity." - Anonymous Online Contributor

"• Ocular toxicity was the only type of toxicity identified in patients treated with the second course of nivolumab. • No other eye side effects or hypersensitivity reactions (e.g. conjunctivitis) were elicited. • All of the ocular side effects reported occurred within the first three months of treatment. This is consistent with early development of inflammatory conjunctival lesions reported in patients treated with nivolumab up to the present. • In this cohort, ocular events occurred sooner (up to 8 weeks) than those previously reported for clinical trial patients." - Anonymous Online Contributor

"Average melanoma age was 61 years, with an estimated prevalence rate of 15/100,000. We have confirmed the existence of a female predominance. The melanoma incidence was 4.6 per million per year. In the last decade, incidence has increased by 20% (to 6.0/100,000). It will require close examination of this observation to exclude bias due to a higher use of melanoma detection tests in the past decade." - Anonymous Online Contributor

"Melanoma is a very important condition. The key to survival is early diagnosis, as early as possible, because treatment is much more effective if done in time. The incidence rates of melanoma increases with age. It is estimated that the annual incidence of skin melanoma is about 40 per 100,000. The likelihood of developing melanoma is increased with advancing age, greater education, and light skin-coloured or mixed-race ethnicity. In the USA black individuals are estimated to develop melanoma about six times as often as white individuals. Melanoma risk is increased for those with a family history of it. Melanoma is more than merely a skin cancer. It has a high mortality rate when not detected early." - Anonymous Online Contributor

"In patients treated with Nivo (pembrolizumab) in the second cohort (OC2) of this study, there were fewer patients needing systemic steroid treatment than in those treated with a placebo (n=28 vs. n=29, respectively; p-value ≤0.0001). This benefit was sustained over the course of the trial. The lower rate of systemic steroid use with Nivo OC2 was due to a lesser percentage of ocular-related treatment-emergent conjunctivitis requiring corticosteroid treatment versus patients treated with placebo (8% vs. 34%; p-value ≤0.0001)." - Anonymous Online Contributor

"Overall, sun exposure is the most important cause of melanoma in the UK, and it is highly likely that ultraviolet radiation from the Sun plays a significant role in the development of melanoma in the US." - Anonymous Online Contributor