Immunologic correlates of the abscopal effect in a patient with melanoma.

The abscopal effect is a phenomenon in which local radiotherapy is associated with the regression of metastatic cancer at a distance from the irradiated site. The abscopal effect may be mediated by activation of the immune system. Ipilimumab is a monoclonal antibody that inhibits an immunologic checkpoint on T cells, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4).

Immunotherapy for advanced melanoma.

The anticytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) monoclonal antibody ipilimumab was approved recently by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

KIT as a therapeutic target in metastatic melanoma.

Context: Some melanomas arising from acral, mucosal, and chronically sun-damaged sites harbor activating mutations and amplification of the type III transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinase KIT. We explored the effects of KIT inhibition using imatinib mesylate in this molecular subset of disease.

Objective: To assess clinical effects of imatinib mesylate in patients with melanoma harboring KIT alterations.

Immunologic response to xenogeneic gp100 DNA in melanoma patients: comparison of particle-mediated epidermal delivery with intramuscular injection.

Purpose: Prior studies show that i.m. injection of xenogeneic orthologues of melanosomal antigens (tyrosinase, gp100) induces CD8(+) T-cell responses to the syngeneic protein.

Correlation of clinical and immunological data in a metastatic melanoma patient with heterogeneous tumor responses to ipilimumab therapy.

Melanoma patients treated with anti-CTLA-4 have shown a range of anti-tumor responses. In this report, we describe the response of a single patient to anti-CTLA-4, with individual lesions disappearing, others stabilizing, and others progressing. These responses can be viewed as a clear manifestation of cancer immunoediting and its three phases of elimination, equilibrium and escape, with each tumor in this patient being at a discrete stage in the process.

CTLA-4 blockade enhances polyfunctional NY-ESO-1 specific T cell responses in metastatic melanoma patients with clinical benefit.

Blockade of inhibitory signals mediated by cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) has been shown to enhance T cell responses and induce durable clinical responses in patients with metastatic melanoma. The functional impact of anti-CTLA-4 therapy on human immune responses is still unclear. To explore this, we analyzed immune-related adverse events and immune responses in metastatic melanoma patients treated with ipilimumab, a fully human anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody.