New Drug Therapies Revolutionize Skin Cancer Treatments

The director of the Skin Cancer Medical Center in Encino, California, Norman Brooks, MD, is a graduate of the University of Colorado. Active in the professional community, Dr. Norman Brooks belongs to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) and is a donor to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Just 25 years ago, physicians had no effective tools for treating advanced melanoma. Initial treatment steps included immunotherapies that weren’t very effective at keeping patients alive longer. However, over the last six years, the dermatology field has welcomed multiple targeted therapies and immunotherapies for stage IV melanoma, including nivolumab (OPDIVO®) and pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA®). Most patients receiving these new drug treatments live two to three years longer than previous survival rates of patients with advanced melanoma. About 20 percent of these patients realize a five-year survival rate.

Recently, the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug nivolumab as a treatment for stage III melanoma (previously, the drug was approved only for stage IV melanoma). Many dermatologists are viewing this change as a big step forward in the treatment of advanced melanoma. Researchers are moving toward the goal of making advanced-stage melanoma a treatable condition.