Dr. Pavlick on Importance of Immunotherapy in Metastatic Melanoma

Anna C. Pavlick, DO, professor in the Department of Medicine and Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology, as well as the director of High Reliability Organization Initiatives and co-director of the Melanoma Program at NYU Langone Health Perlmutter Cancer Center, discusses the importance of immunotherapy for patients with metastatic melanoma.

Immunotherapy has become the focus of research in melanoma. Immunotherapy can help harness a patient’s immune system and attack cancer cells, says Pavlick. Over the last 10 years, the field has seen an improvement in outcomes with the use of immunotherapy.

Whether a patient receives a BRAF inhibitor or does not, immunotherapy is a choice because patients with a BRAF mutation can respond just as well to treatment as patients who do not have the mutation. Immunotherapy has become a cornerstone of melanoma therapy. The field is looking to build on the progress that has been made to make responses better in order to cure more patients, concludes Pavlick.