Treatment patterns and outcomes among patients with metastatic melanoma treated in community practice

Factors associated with immune checkpoint inhibitor use among older adults with late-stage melanoma: A population-based study

Improvement in overall survival by immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) treatment in clinical trials encourages their use for late-stage melanoma. However, in the real-world, heterogeneity of population, such as older patients with multimorbidity, may lead to a slower diffusion of ICIs. The objective of this study was to examine the association of multimorbidity and other factors to ICI use among older patients with late-stage melanoma using real world data.A retrospective cohort study design with a 12-month baseline and follow-up period was adopted with data from the linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry/Medicare database. Older patients (>65 years) with late-stage (stage III/IV) melanoma diagnosed between 2012 and 2015 were categorized as with or without multimorbidity (presence of 2 or more chronic conditions) and ICI use was identified in the post-index period. Chi-square tests and logistic regression were used to evaluate factors associated with ICI use.In the study cohort, 85% had multimorbidity, 18% received any treatment (chemotherapy, radiation, and/or ICI), and 6% received ICI. Only 5.5% of older patients with multimorbidity and 6% without multimorbidity received ICIs. Younger age, presence of social support, lower economic status, residence in northeastern regions, and recent year of diagnosis were significantly associated with ICI use; however, multimorbidity, sex, and race were not associated with ICI use.In the real-world clinical practice, only 1 in 18 older adults with late stage melanoma received ICI, suggesting slow pace of diffusion of innovation. However, multimorbidity was not a barrier to ICI use.

Synthesis of a Sulfonimidamide-Based Analog of Tasisulam and Its Biological Evaluation in the Melanoma Cell Lines SKMel23 and A375

Tasisulam is a promising antitumor agent with complex pharmacology, which is used as an antiproliferative agent in patients with metastatic melanoma and other solid tumors. Phase 2 melanoma studies showed promising results but had to be stopped because of insufficient tasisulam clearance leading to toxic side effects. To reduce the negative effects of tasisulam, we synthesized a novel sulfonimidamide-based analog to evaluate its antiproliferative effects in comparison to the original compound by performing a cell proliferation assay in melanoma cell lines SKMel23 and A375. The results revealed that the analog had inhibitory effects on the proliferation comparable to tasisulam in both investigated cell lines. These results could contribute to a reduced toxicity of tasisulam and lead to further clinical trials in metastatic melanoma.

Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes: The Time Is Ripe for Integration Into Patient Care and Clinical Research

In the emerging team-based approach to delivering cancer care, collecting patient-reported outcomes (PROs) provides longitudinal monitoring of treatment adverse effects, disease complications, functional statuses, and psychological states throughout the cancer continuum for all providers to use. Electronic systems offer added capabilities, including easy quantitation of individual symptom items and aggregated scales, standardization, and longitudinal tracking of patient surveys for trend analysis over time. An ideal electronic PRO (ePRO) platform is clinically relevant, validated, and reliable and would offer patient usability. Additionally, it should allow for automated responses to and from patients, have scheduling functionality, and send real-time alerts to site personnel and patients. Clinical interfaces should be easy to read and integrated into the electronic medical record. Multiple ePRO systems, often using electronic tablets, have been created and are beginning to be widely deployed. The Patient Care Monitor is one example of a system that has evolved into a comprehensive patient engagement platform, with a complete review of systems survey and capabilities for mobile health usage. Recent clinical trials have established ePRO systems as an effective method of providing information, which aids improved patient outcomes, including reduced health resource utilization and longer time on therapy. ePROs are also increasingly incorporated into clinical trials, where they can provide more thorough reporting of adverse events than can be captured by alternative methods. Mobile devices have the potential to become the method by which all members of the provider team communicate with patients both at the point-of-care and between clinic visits to optimize care delivery.

Real-world treatment practice in patients with advanced melanoma in the era before ipilimumab: results from the IMAGE study

The therapeutic landscape for advanced melanoma has recently been transformed by several novel agents (immune checkpoint inhibitors and molecular‐targeted agents). The prospective, multi‐site, observational study IMAGE (ipilimumab: management of advanced melanoma in real practice) included a retrospective cohort to describe real‐world treatment prior to approval of the immune checkpoint inhibitor ipilimumab. This retrospective cohort of patients, who started second‐line/subsequent treatment (index therapy) for advanced melanoma within 3 years before ipilimumab approval, was selected randomly by chart review. Collected data included treatment history, patient outcomes, and healthcare resource utilization. All patients had ≥1 year of follow‐up data. This analysis included 177 patients from Europe (69%) and North America (31%). The most common index therapies (used alone or in combination) were fotemustine (23%), dacarbazine (21%), temozolomide (14%), and platinum‐based chemotherapy (14%). Most patients (89%) discontinued index treatment during the study period; the most common reason was disease progression (59%). Among patients with tumor assessment (153/177; 86%), 2% had complete response, 5% had partial response, and 12% had stable disease on last tumor assessment. At 1‐year study follow‐up, median progression‐free survival was 2.6 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1–2.9) and median overall survival was 8.8 months (95% CI, 6.5–9.7). During follow‐up, 95% of the patients had healthcare visits for advanced melanoma, 74% of whom were hospitalized or admitted to a hospice facility. These results provide insights into patient care with advanced melanoma in the era before ipilimumab and may serve as a benchmark for new agents in future real‐world studies.