Dr. Weber on the Treatment of LDH-High Melanoma

Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, ​deputy director and co-director of the melanoma program, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Professor of Oncology, Department of Medicine, NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, 2016 Giant of Cancer Care® in Melanoma, discusses the treatment of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)​–high melanoma.

It’s important to explain to patients how melanoma is categorized ​via tumor biology and genomics in the treatment selection process, says Weber. Notably, most patients with melanoma do not experience rapidly growing disease with high levels of LDH​. Moreover, LDH is a surrogate marker for tumor bulk and is associated with poor ​outcomes, Weber says.

However, patients ​with LDH​-high ​melanoma who harbor BRAF mutations ​can receive BRAF and MEK inhibitors. In ​these cases, the goal ​of treatment is to obtain tumor regression by week 8 ​to 12​. Then, patients are switched to immunotherapy, Weber concludes.