Rizzetto G, De Simoni E, Molinelli E, Offidani A, Simonetti O. Efficacy of Pembrolizumab in Advanced Melanoma: A Narrative Review.
Int J Mol Sci 2023;
24:12383. [PMID:
37569757 PMCID:
PMC10419154 DOI:
10.3390/ijms241512383]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 07/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Pembrolizumab has been shown to increase survival in patients with metastatic melanoma. Considering the numerous oncoming studies, we decided to conduct a narrative review of the latest efficacy evidence regarding the use of pembrolizumab, alone or in combination, in patients with metastatic melanoma. A search was conducted in PubMed using "pembrolizumab," and "metastatic melanoma" as keywords, considering studies from 2022 onward. We reviewed pembrolizumab and associations, cost-effectiveness, virus, advanced acral melanoma, long-term outcomes, real-life data, biomarkers, obesity, and vaccines. In conclusion, pembrolizumab is a fundamental option in the therapy of metastatic melanoma. However, a certain group of patients do not respond and, therefore, new combination options need to be evaluated. In particular, the use of vaccines tailored to tumor epitopes could represent a breakthrough in the treatment of resistant forms. Further studies with larger sample numbers are needed to confirm the preliminary results.
Collapse