Rare Dermatology News
Spotlight On
Melanoma
Melanoma is a malignancy of pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) located predominantly in the skin, but also found in the eyes, ears, GI tract, leptomeninges, and oral and genital mucous membranes.
Prevelance
<1 / 100 000
Age of Onset
ICD-10
C43.9
Inheritance
Autosomal dominant
Autosomal recessive
Mitochondrial/Multigenic
X-linked dominant
X-linked recessive
5 Facts you should know
FACT
New cases of melanoma are increasing annually at almost 6%.
It is estimated that the number of new melanoma cases diagnosed in 2021 will increase by 5.8 percent.
FACT
Melanoma can be colorless.
While it’s true that many melanomas are dark brown to black in color, some melanomas have no color and appear as pink spots or bumps.
FACT
The majority of melanoma-related deaths occur in patients initially diagnosed with early-stage disease.
There are an estimated 130,000 patients diagnosed with invasive, non-metastatic cutaneous melanoma annually in the US. Most of these patients (estimated to be more than 100,000) are diagnosed with early-stage (Stage I-II) disease. Despite recent advances in treatment, the majority of melanoma-related deaths occur in patients initially thought to be low risk.
FACT
The false-negative rate of the SLNB procedure is reported to be between 5-21%.
While SLNB provides prognostic information the procedure has significant limitations including no survival benefit, low sensitivity, and a surgical complication rate of 11%.
FACT
Genomic testing more accurately identifies high-risk melanoma tumors.
When compared with traditional staging, genomic testing can provide a more accurate and personalized assessment of the risk of tumors metastasizing or recurring.
Interest over time
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Common signs & symptoms
Nevus
Mole
Abnormal hair morphology
Abnormality of the hair
Abnormality of the lymphatic system
Dry skin
Freckling
Abnormality of extrapyramidal motor function
Neoplasm of the breast
Retinopathy
Noninflammatory retina disease
Current treatments
The medication(s) listed below have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as orphan products for treatment of this condition. Learn more orphan products.
Encorafenib + binimetinib
(Brand name: Braftovi + Mektovi) - Manufactured by Array BioPharma, Inc.
FDA-approved indication: June 2018, approved in combination for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma with a BRAF V600E or V600K mutation, as detected by an FDA-approved test.
Pembrolizumab
(Brand name: Keytruda) - Manufactured by Merck, Sharp & Dohme Corp
FDA-approved indication: Treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma and disease progression following ipilimumab and, if BRAF V600 mutation positive, a BRAF inhibitor.
Trametinib
(Brand name: Mekinist) - Manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, LLC
FDA-approved indication: Treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma with BRAF V600E or V600K mutations as detected by an FDA approved test.
Nivolumab
(Brand name: Opdivo) - Manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co
FDA-approved indication: Treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma and disease progression following ipilimumab and, if BRAF V600 mutation positive, a BRAF inhibitor. And treatment of patients with melanoma with involvement of lymph nodes or metestatic disease who have undergone complete resection.