BRAF-inhibitors can exert control of disease in BRAF T599I mutated melanoma: a case report.

BRAF signaling is involved in melanoma growth in more than half of metastatic patients. In the last few years, new drugs that block this pathway have significantly improved the outcomes of patients with metastatic melanoma. Ninety percent of BRAF mutations involve exon 15, and the most frequent, V600E, results from the amino acid change from valine (V) to glutamic acid (E). BRAF inhibitor treatments have shown a notable overall response rate and improvements in progression-free and overall survival. Rare BRAF mutations of codon 599 have been also described in a few patients with papillary thyroid cancer and melanoma. Nowadays, no evidence is available in the literature, describing the role of target therapies as treatment in patients with this specific codon mutation. We describe the case of a young woman with metastatic melanoma with a particular BRAF mutation, T599I, who has benefited from treatment with a BRAF inhibitor, vemurafenib.

Effective activity of cytokine-induced killer cells against autologous metastatic melanoma including cells with stemness features.

PURPOSE: We investigate the unknown tumor-killing activity of cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells against autologous metastatic melanoma and the elusive subset of putative cancer stem cells (mCSC). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We developed a preclinical autologous model using same patient-generated CIK cells and tumor targets to consider the unique biology of each patient/tumor pairing. In primary tumor cell cultures, we visualized and immunophenotypically defined a putative mCSC subset using a novel gene transfer strategy that exploited their exclusive ability to activate the promoter of stemness gene Oct4. RESULTS: The CIK cells from 10 patients with metastatic melanoma were successfully expanded (median, 23-fold; range, 11-117). Primary tumor cell cultures established and characterized from the same patients were used as autologous targets. Patient-derived CIK cells efficiently killed autologous metastatic melanoma [up to 71% specific killing (n = 26)]. CIK cells were active in vivo against autologous melanoma, resulting in delayed tumor growth, increased necrotic areas, and lymphocyte infiltration at tumor sites. The metastatic melanoma cultures presented an average of 11.5% ± 2.5% putative mCSCs, which was assessed by Oct4 promoter activity and stemness marker expression (Oct4, ABCG2, ALDH, MITF). Expression was confirmed on mCSC target molecules recognized by CIK cells (MIC A/B; ULBPs). CIK tumor killing activity against mCSCs was intense (up to 71%, n = 4) and comparable with results reported against differentiated metastatic melanoma cells (P = 0.8). CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, the intense killing activity of CIK cells against autologous metastatic melanoma, including mCSCs, has been shown. These findings move clinical investigation of a new immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma, including mCSCs, closer.

Squamous cell carcinoma of the umbilicus: management of an unusual localization.

We describe the case of a squamous cell carcinoma spreading to the skin and regional lymph nodes from the umbilicus. Bilateral inguinal lymphadenectomy and a session of electrochemotherapy with bleomycin 15 mg/m2 were performed. However, because of the development of new cutaneous nodules in the abdominopelvic region, we performed targeted palliative therapy with erlotinib 150 mg/day. Targeted adjuvant therapy was preferred to the use of a major cytotoxic agent because of the high risk of superinfection and heart failure. Erlotinib produced a partial clinical response with reduction of the number and size of the skin nodules. CT scan performed after 60 days of treatment did not show any new lesions. To our knowledge, this is the first report of an umbilical metastatic squamous cell carcinoma treated with modern targeted therapy. This therapeutic strategy can be considered a valid palliative option in the management of metastatic cutaneous nodules of this rare primary site.

Sentinel lymph node dissection in stage I/II melanoma patients: surgical management and clinical follow-up study.

Selective sentinel lymph node (SLN) dissection is widely used in the management of cutaneous melanoma patients without clinical evidence of nodal metastases. A series of 274 consecutive melanoma patients who underwent melanoma primary excision and SLN mapping at our institutions since 1998, and were thereafter followed up and eventually treated, is reported in this prospective study. The aim was to analyse the parameters associated with a higher risk of occult nodal metastases, to evaluate the clinical outcome of melanoma patients who underwent SLN procedure, and to identify by means of multivariate analysis the prognostic parameters with independent predictive value on disease-free survival (DFS) in node-positive and negative patients. The SLN was tumour-negative in 228 patients (83.2%). A disease progression occurred in 25 (10.9%); among them, 10 patients in whom the initially identified SLN had been negative, developed a clinically and histologically evident positive lymph node in the same basin during follow-up. Five-year DFS and overall survival were 75% and 82%, respectively. In 46 patients (16.8%), the SLN proved to be tumour positive. The percentage of SLN-positive patients varied according to the primary thickness, from 11.8% in patients with Breslow of 2 mm or lower, to 34.7% in patients with Breslow from 2 to 4 mm, up to 55.9% in patients with Breslow greater than 4 mm (P<0.001). Only two patients with Breslow thickness lower than 1 mm had positive SLN biopsy. Five-year DFS and overall survival (OS) were 42 and 69%, respectively, significantly lower than those of negative SLN-patients (P<0.001). Multivariate analyses showed that the parameters with prognostic independent value on DFS were SLN status (micrometastases or macrometastases; P=0.0001), and to a lesser extent, Breslow thickness (P=0.04). In conclusion, our data support the clinical usefulness of SLN dissection as a reliable and accurate staging method in patients with cutaneous melanoma. SLN-positive patient OS (5-year survival 69%) seems to be superior to that historically reported for stage III patients treated with curative nodal dissection only after the clinical evidence of palpable adenopathies (5-year survival 36%). The prognostic relevance of the pattern of SLN invasion (micrometastases/macrometastases) could be the basis for the planning of adjuvant treatment trials on selected groups of patients.