Five recent developments in melanoma

Study findings that pathologists had lower levels of accuracy and reproducibility in diagnosing some melanomas when compared with other types of melanoma was among recent developments reported on Healio.com/Dermatology.

Other developments included findings of clinical features in early adolescence that were associated with mole-prone phenotype in later adolescence, which may help identify individuals at risk for melanoma, and the American Academy of Dermatology Association opposing the repeal of the indoor tanning tax in Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act:

Pathologists' diagnoses of some melanomas may not be accurate

Pathologists had lower levels of accuracy and reproducibility in diagnosing moderate dysplastic nevus, melanoma in situ and early stage invasive melanoma, compared with benign nevi and high stage invasive melanoma, according to recently published study results in BMJ.

Researchers recruited 187 pathologists from 10 U.S. states who interpreted 240 skin biopsies, which were grouped into five sets of 36 or 48. Read more

AADA opposes repeal of indoor tanning tax in Senate health care bill

The American Academy of Dermatology Association has issued a statement from its president opposing the repeal of the tax on indoor tanning services that is a provision in the Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act.

“Melanoma is the second most common cancer in females aged 15 to 29 years, and this has been shown to be related to their tanning habits,” Henry W. Lim, MD, FAAD, said in a statement to Healio.com/Dermatology. “We would encourage Congress to keep this tax in place for the good of public health.” Read more

Nivolumab benefits patients with melanoma treated beyond progression

Patients with melanoma continued to experience tumor response to nivolumab monotherapy when treated beyond progression, according to a pooled analysis of data from the CheckMate 066 and CheckMate 067 studies.

“The results of this analysis suggest that continued treatment with nivolumab [Opdivo, Bristol-Myers Squibb] may be an option to achieve further apparent clinical benefit in some patients with advanced melanoma,” Georgina V. Long, PhD, BSc, MBBS, FRACP, chair of melanoma medical oncology and translational research at Melanoma Institute Australia and Royal North Shore Hospital of The University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues wrote. With Perspective Read more

Histopathologic features of melanoma in difficult-to-diagnose lesions varied in accuracy

While certain histopathologic features of difficult-to-diagnose lesions significantly influenced the final diagnosis of melanoma, some features varied in accuracy and predictability, according to published study results in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

“Dermatopathology is considered the gold standard for melanoma diagnosis, but a subset of melanocytic tumors is considered difficult to diagnosis by histopathology,” Manuel Lora Gonzalez, MD, of the department of pathology and laboratory medicine, Kansas University, Kansas City, and colleagues wrote. Read more

Factors in early adolescence associated with mole-prone phenotype later

Researchers found clinical features in early adolescence that were associated with mole-prone phenotype in later adolescence, which may help identify individuals at risk for melanoma, according to published study results in JAMA Dermatology.

The researchers conducted a prospective cohort study from the Study of Nevi in Children, a population based study, between 2009 and 2014 with a 2- to 3-year follow-up. Read more