Improved survival and complete response rates in patients with advanced melanoma treated with concurrent ipilimumab and radiotherapy versus ipilimumab alone.

There is a growing body of evidence supporting the synergistic roles of radiotherapy and immunotherapy in the treatment of malignancy. Published case studies of the abscopal effect have been reported with the use of ipilimumab and radiotherapy in metastatic melanoma, but evidence supporting the routine use of this combination of therapy is limited. We conducted a retrospective analysis to evaluate patients treated with ipilimumab for advanced melanoma at a single institution from May 2011 to June 2015.

Malignant melanoma-The cradle of anti-neoplastic immunotherapy.

One of the defining characteristics of the malignant phenotype is the ability to evade the host immune system. Immunotherapy as a treatment modality represents a new dawn in the way we think about the treatment of a variety of malignancies. The story of immunotherapy traces its roots to its relationship with malignant melanoma.