New treatment halts melanoma in its tracks: Study

Melbourne: Scientists have developed a combination of new treatments that can successfully stop melanoma in its tracks, preventing the deadliest form of skin cancer from spreading to other organs.

Researchers from the Melanoma Institute Australia conducted two international clinical trials.

The trials, COMBI-AD and CheckMate 238, proved successful in preventing the spread of disease in Stage III melanoma patients whose tumours had been surgically removed.

Until now, these patients were at a high risk (40-70 per cent) of their disease progressing to advanced and fatal melanoma.

"These results will change the way we treat melanoma patients as well as their quality of life," said Professor Georgina Long, at Melanoma Institute Australia.

"Until now, Stage III melanoma patients who have had their tumours surgically removed have simply had to play the waiting game, to see if their melanoma would metastasise or spread. Living with such fear severely affected them and their loved ones," said Long.

"Results from these clinical trials suggest we can stop the disease in its tracks - effectively preventing it from spreading and saving lives," she said.

"Our ultimate goal of making melanoma chronic rather than a terminal illness is now so much closer to being achieved," she said.

In the COMBI-AD trial, patients were randomised to receive a combination of targeted therapies (dabrafenib and trametinib) or placebo for 12 months.

Targeted therapies block the action of a particular gene BRAF, which is a driver for melanoma. It not only prevented resected Stage III melanoma from recurring, but also increased overall survival.

The CheckMate 238 trial involved patients with high risk Stage III and Stage IV disease who had had all melanoma surgically removed.

They were randomised to be treated with the immunotherapy nivolumab or ipilimumab for 12 months. Immunotherapies reboot the immune system to attack the melanoma cells.

Results showed nivolumab decreased the chance of relapse, and it had a superior safety profile over ipilimumab. This benefit was seen in patients regardless of BRAF mutation status. The follow up period is too short to yet determine long-term survival rates.

Research had already shown that targeted and immune therapies can successfully treat patients with advanced (Stage IV) melanoma that could not be removed surgically.

These clinical trials are the first in the world to give the treatments to melanoma patients at an earlier stage of the disease to prevent spread and recurrence.

"These clinical trials show we now have ammunition to prevent melanoma spreading and progressing, which until now was a critical area of disease behaviour where we had no control," Long said.

"This will change how melanoma is treated around the world, as we no longer have to passively wait to see if the melanoma spreads," she said.

"We can now actively and effectively attack the melanoma at an earlier stage, reducing the dreadful anxiety for patients about progressing to a potentially terminal illness and ensuring they have much better outcomes," she added.