Melanoma
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Jun 01 – Jun 08, 2026
Intismeran Autogene Plus Pembrolizumab Versus Pembrolizumab Alone in High-Risk Resected Melanoma: 5-Year Update of the Randomized Phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 Study.
J CLIN ONCOL · Q1 JOURNAL - RANK #6/326TOP-TIER
This phase 2b randomized study evaluated the 5-year efficacy of intismeran, an individualized mRNA neoantigen therapy, combined with pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab alone in 157 patients with resected high-risk melanoma. The combination therapy significantly prolonged recurrence-free survival (HR 0.510; 95% CI, 0.294–0.887) and distant metastasis-free survival (HR 0.411; 95% CI, 0.200–0.843) compared to monotherapy. These findings demonstrate sustained clinical benefit and a manageable safety profile, supported by increased T-cell receptor clonality in the combination arm. For clinicians, this suggests that personalized mRNA vaccines may provide durable long-term protection against recurrence in advanced melanoma patients.
10.1200/JCO-26-00835
International disruptions to cancer diagnosis and stage at presentation during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020: an International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP) population-based study.
LANCET ONCOL · Q1 JOURNAL - RANK #8/326TOP-TIER
This population-based study analyzed 2.6 million patients across seven countries to evaluate how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the incidence and staging of seven major cancer types in 2020. Researchers found that 16% (55,713) of expected cancer cases were missing between April and December 2020, with the highest deficits occurring in prostate (24%), breast (18%), and melanoma (18%) diagnoses. The data reveals significant regional variations, such as a 54% deficit in UK prostate cancer cases, highlighting critical gaps in screening and diagnostic access during lockdowns. These findings underscore a pressing clinical need to address diagnostic backlogs and monitor for potential stage shifts in patients whose diagnoses were delayed by pandemic-related healthcare barriers.
10.1016/S1470-2045(26)00089-6
May 18 – May 25, 2026
Five-Year Survival with Tebentafusp in Metastatic Uveal Melanoma.
ANN ONCOL · Q1 JOURNAL - RANK #4/326TOP-TIER
This phase 3 trial evaluated the five-year overall survival of HLA-A*02:01-positive patients with metastatic uveal melanoma treated with tebentafusp compared to investigator’s choice of therapy. Tebentafusp significantly improved median overall survival to 21.6 months versus 16.9 months in the control group (HR 0.67), with a five-year survival rate of 16% compared to 8%. Survival benefits persisted across poor-prognosis subgroups and in patients treated beyond radiographic progression, while ctDNA reductions ≥50% by week 9 strongly correlated with improved outcomes. These findings solidify tebentafusp as the standard of care for this population, demonstrating durable long-term efficacy in a historically difficult-to-treat malignancy.
10.1016/j.annonc.2026.05.695
Apr 20 – Apr 27, 2026
IO102-IO103 immune-modulatory cancer vaccine and pembrolizumab in melanoma.
ANN ONCOL · Q1 JOURNAL - RANK #4/326TOP-TIER
This Phase 3 trial evaluated the efficacy of the IO102-IO103 immune-modulatory vaccine combined with pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab monotherapy in 407 patients with untreated advanced melanoma. The combination arm achieved a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 19.4 months compared to 11.0 months for monotherapy (HR 0.77; P=0.0558), though it narrowly missed the predefined statistical significance threshold. Notable benefits were observed in PD-L1-negative patients (16.6 vs. 3.0 months PFS) and anti-PD-1 naïve patients, with no significant increase in grade ≥3 adverse events (14.5% vs. 15.6%). While the primary endpoint was not statistically met, the favorable safety profile and clinically meaningful PFS improvements in specific subgroups suggest potential for this vaccine-checkpoint inhibitor combination in first-line melanoma management.
10.1016/j.annonc.2026.04.010
Targeting MEK in cancer and beyond: mechanistic insights and therapeutic opportunities.
LANCET · Q1 JOURNAL - RANK #1/332TOP-TIER
This review examines the therapeutic landscape of MEK inhibitors, focusing on their established role in BRAF-driven cancers and the challenges of toxicity and resistance in RAS-mutant tumors. While effective in BRAF-mutant melanoma, clinical utility is often limited by severe dermatological and gastrointestinal adverse effects, necessitating the development of predictive biomarkers like MAPK pathway activity. Emerging strategies emphasize dual-targeting drug design and combination regimens with immune checkpoint inhibitors or PI3K-mTOR inhibitors to improve durability and expand the therapeutic window. Refined patient selection through biomarker-guided approaches remains essential for optimizing MEK inhibition in oncology while exploring potential applications in non-oncological inflammatory and fibrotic disorders.
10.1016/S0140-6736(26)00199-6
Mar 09 – Mar 16, 2026
Assessment of survival benefit from sentinel node biopsy for melanoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
LANCET ONCOL · Q1 JOURNAL - RANK #8/326TOP-TIER
This systematic review and meta-analysis of 60 studies, including 13 adjusted-risk analyses involving 40,287 participants, evaluated whether sentinel node biopsy (SNB) improves survival outcomes in adults with cutaneous melanoma. The analysis demonstrated a significant reduction in the risk of death from melanoma for patients undergoing SNB (HR 0.86; 95% CI 0.81-0.92) and a notably reduced risk of recurrence (HR 0.71; 95% CI 0.66-0.76). These findings directly address the clinician’s interest in cancer by providing high-level evidence for a survival benefit associated with a standard oncological staging procedure. The results suggest that SNB provides more than just prognostic information, offering a tangible therapeutic advantage in reducing melanoma-specific mortality and recurrence in clinical practice.
10.1016/S1470-2045(26)00026-4
Mar 02 – Mar 09, 2026
Percutaneous hepatic perfusion combined with ipilimumab and nivolumab for metastatic uveal melanoma (CHOPIN): a single-centre, open-label, randomised, phase 2 trial.
LANCET ONCOL · Q1 JOURNAL - RANK #8/326TOP-TIER
This phase 2, single-centre, open-label, randomised trial investigated the efficacy and safety of combining percutaneous hepatic perfusion (PHP) with ipilimumab and nivolumab for unresectable liver-only or liver-dominant metastatic uveal melanoma. The combination therapy significantly improved 1-year progression-free survival to 54.7% (95% CI 36.8-69.5) compared to 15.8% (5.8-30.1) with PHP alone (adjusted HR 0.34; p=0.0002). While effective, the combination therapy resulted in a higher rate of grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse events (82% vs 41%), including thrombocytopenia and leukopenia, and one treatment-related death. This study suggests that combining PHP with ipilimumab and nivolumab offers a promising new treatment paradigm for metastatic uveal melanoma, despite increased toxicity, warranting consideration in clinical practice.
10.1016/S1470-2045(25)00720-X
Assessing the global demand and supply of brachytherapy resources: a population-based observational study.
LANCET ONCOL · Q1 JOURNAL - RANK #8/326TOP-TIER
This population-based observational study quantified the global demand and supply of brachytherapy resources for six specific cancers, utilizing cancer incidence data from GLOBOCAN 2022 and brachytherapy centre data. It found that 708,948 of 18.5 million new cancer cases in 2022 required brachytherapy, with cervical cancer accounting for 59.3% of indications. Brachytherapy demand was met in 81.5% of HICs but in no LICs, with patients in LICs traveling an average of 551 km compared to 68 km in HICs. These findings highlight profound global inequities in access to this critical cancer treatment, underscoring an urgent need for investment in new centers to improve cancer care worldwide.
10.1016/S1470-2045(25)00718-1