Dr. Atkins Discusses the Adjuvant Treatment of Melanoma

Michael B. Atkins, MD, deputy director, Georgetown-Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, professor of oncology and medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine, discusses the adjuvant treatment of melanoma.

For the past 20 years, there have been constant debate over what adjuvant treatments should be used in which patients with melanoma, says Atkins. But none of the available treatments were effective of tolerable enough to justify their widespread use, Atkins add.

Recently, a trial looking at vemurafenib (Zelboraf), the COMBI-d study of dabrafenib (Tafinlar) plus trametinib (Mekinist), and a trial comparing nivolumab (Opdivo) with high-dose ipilimumab (Yervoy), showed promise across varying stages of disease.