Cardiotoxicity of Systemic Melanoma Treatments

Skin Cancer Metabolic Profile Assessed by Different Analytical Platforms

Skin cancer, including malignant melanoma (MM) and keratinocyte carcinoma (KC), historically named non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC), represents the most common type of cancer among the white skin population. Despite decades of clinical research, the incidence rate of melanoma is increasing globally. Therefore, a better understanding of disease pathogenesis and resistance mechanisms is considered vital to accomplish early diagnosis and satisfactory control. The "Omics" field has recently gained attention, as it can help in identifying and exploring metabolites and metabolic pathways that assist cancer cells in proliferation, which can be further utilized to improve the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancer. Although skin tissues contain diverse metabolic enzymes, it remains challenging to fully characterize these metabolites. Metabolomics is a powerful omics technique that allows us to measure and compare a vast array of metabolites in a biological sample. This technology enables us to study the dermal metabolic effects and get a clear explanation of the pathogenesis of skin diseases. The purpose of this literature review is to illustrate how metabolomics technology can be used to evaluate the metabolic profile of human skin cancer, using a variety of analytical platforms including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Data collection has not been based on any analytical method.

Risk of Cardiovascular Disease Death in Older Malignant Melanoma Patients: A Population-Based Study

Noncancer deaths account for a large proportion of deaths in patients with malignant melanoma (MM), but the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) death in older MM patients remains unclear. This study aimed to estimate the risk of CVD death in older MM patients. Data on older MM patients were obtained in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Risk of CVD death was calculated by standardized mortality rates (SMRs), cumulative mortality and proportion of different causes of death. MM patients had a higher risk of CVD death than general populations (SMR = 1.98; 95% CI 1.93−2.03, p < 0.001). CVD death was more common in MM patients who were diagnosed at age 85 or older, had a localized stage, were white, had surgical treatment, had a primary head/neck/upper limb site and had a low-grade and superficial spreading/lentigo malignant pathologic type. Cumulative CVD mortality was more common than primary cancer in all older age groups, male or female, and patients with localized-stage disease. Other than primary cancer, CVD was the main cause of death in older patients diagnosed with MM. Our findings highlight CVD death is an important competing event of deaths in older MM patients, and more attention should be paid to reducing CVD death to improve survival.