When Melanoma is More Thank Skin Deep
While it is the most deadly form of skin cancer, the majority of melanoma cases are superficial.
“For most, melanoma is going to be picked up at an early stage because you can see it, we’re all being screened by dermatologist, you remove it, you’re done with it and most people are not going to require anything else,” says oncologist Dr. Frank Rodriguez. He is in on medical staff of Lee Memorial Health System.
The challenge is in treating late stage cases, when melanoma is no longer skin deep.
“Every once in a while you’re going to find somebody who has either a very aggressive melanoma or didn’t see the melanoma and it grew and was able to spread to the lymph nodes and eventually to distant organs. And that’s really where we end up getting involved as medical oncologists,” Dr. Rodriguez says.
Historically advanced melanoma was difficult to treat, not responding well to traditional chemotherapies. But new drugs are taking new approaches- when given together may dramatically increase survivability.
“Yervoy is something that we used to accelerate the immune function. In accelerating the immune function it identifies and destroys these melanoma cells,” says Dr. Rodriguez.
A newly approved drug is being used in tandem- a new line of therapy which targets the cancer’s ability to dodge the immune system.
“We now have a whole new pathway to target a whole new area of investigation. And this drug, it’s called Keytruda, actually works by almost uncloaking or pointing out the melanoma cells to the immune system.”
Used together the immune boosting and targeted therapies hold great promise for melanoma and potentially, other cancers.
“Because the same mechanism is at play in other malignancies,” says Dr. Rodriguez.
An exciting new pathway – unlocking our bodies own power and turning it on cancer
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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.
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