Pembrolizumab Versus High-Dose Interferon-α2b as Adjuvant Therapy for Pediatric Melanoma: A Retrospective Study.

Introduction: Pembrolizumab is well-tolerated in pediatric patients with advanced tumors, consistent with results in adults. However, information on the safety and efficacy of adjuvant pembrolizumab in children and adolescents with melanoma is lacking.

Objectives: To compare pembrolizumab versus high-dose interferon-α2b (HDI) as adjuvant therapy in pediatric patients with melanoma.

Molecular underpinnings of exceptional response in primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus to anti-PD-1 monotherapy.

Background: Accumulating data suggest that mucosal melanoma, well known for its poor response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and abysmal prognosis, is a heterogeneous subtype of melanoma with distinct genomic and clinical characteristics between different anatomic locations of the primary lesions. Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus (PMME) is a rare, highly aggressive disease with a poorer prognosis compared with that of non-esophageal mucosal melanoma (NEMM). In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the efficacy of anti-programmed death (PD)-1 in patients with PMME and explored its molecular basis.

Prognostic impact of Breslow thickness in acral melanoma: A retrospective analysis.

Background: Evidence for the prognostic importance of tumor thickness in acral melanoma (AM) patients is limited.

Objective: The objective of the study was to determine the prognostic impact of Breslow thickness in AM.

Methods: This multicenter study enrolled patients diagnosed with localized AM between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2017.

Prognostic value of ulceration varies across Breslow thicknesses and clinical stages in acral melanoma: a retrospective study.

Background: Ulceration is regarded as an adverse prognostic factor and is used together with tumour thickness to subcategorize patients with cutaneous melanoma. However, the prognostic impact of ulceration in acral melanoma (AM) is controversial.

Objectives: To assess the prognostic impact of ulceration in AM and the variability across different Breslow thicknesses and clinical stages.

Immunotherapy in Acral and Mucosal Melanoma: Current Status and Future Directions.

Acral and mucosal melanomas are extremely rare in Caucasians; however, they are the predominant melanoma subtypes in Asians and other non-Caucasian populations. Acral and mucosal melanomas share many clinicopathological features, including aggressive phenotypes, similar genetic landscapes, and grim prognoses. In spite of advances in melanoma management, patients with acral and mucosal melanomas show limited benefit from current therapies.

Risk Models for Advanced Melanoma Patients Under Anti-PD-1 Monotherapy- Analyses of Pooled Data From Two Clinical Trials.

The best response and survival outcomes between advanced melanoma patients treated with the anti-PD-1 monotherapy vary greatly, rendering a risk model in need to optimally stratify patients based on their likelihood to benefit from the said treatment. We performed an analysis of 89 advanced melanoma patients treated with the anti-PD-1 monotherapy from two prospective clinical trials at the Peking University Cancer Hospital from April 2016 to May 2018. Clinicodemographical characteristics, baseline and early-on-treatment (median 0.

Palbociclib in advanced acral melanoma with genetic aberrations in the cyclin-dependent kinase 4 pathway.

Background: Genetic aberrations in the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)4 pathway occur in 82% of patients with acral melanoma (AM), which is the predominant subtype of melanoma in China. We aimed to evaluate the anti-tumour activity of palbociclib, a selective CDK4/6 inhibitor, in patients with advanced AM with CDK4 pathway gene aberrations.

Methods: In this phase II trial, patients with advanced AM with CDK4 or/and CCND1 gain or/and CDKN2A loss were treated with oral palbociclib (125 mg) on days 1-21 of a 28-day cycle.

The Clinicopathological and Survival Profiles Comparison Across Primary Sites in Acral Melanoma.

Background: The clinicopathological and survival profiles across primary sites in acral melanoma (AM) are still controversial and unclear.

Methods: This is a multi-center retrospective study. Clinicopathological data of AM patients diagnosed between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2017 from 6 large tertiary hospitals in China were extracted.