Treatment of metastatic uveal melanoma shows ‘promising’ results

When uveal melanoma spreads to a patient’s liver, the prognosis is not good, but a new treatment is showing promise for these patients. The treatment “revs up” the immune system and “chokes off” the tumor’s oxygen supply, giving patients an option other than surgery, according to researchers in Philadelphia.

Takami Sato, MD, and colleagues at Thomas Jefferson University reported promising results from a phase 1/2 clinical trial of a procedure called immunoembolization. In this procedure, a chemical called GM-CSF is used to stimulate the immune system, producing an inflammatory reaction in the liver and thus hopefully fighting the cancer.

In the trials, 30% of 39 patients had tumor shrinkage and another 30% had tumors that did not grow, according to a press release from the university. Patients in the study lived, on average, twice as long compared with those who received chemoembolization, an older therapy.

Dr. Sato said in the press release that a larger phase 2 study of the procedure for patients with uveal melanoma metastatic to the liver has begun.

Dr. Sato presented his findings at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting earlier this week.