
A rare type of malignant melanoma is treatable with immunotherapies, according to a new study — overturning previous beliefs that the cancer, called desmoplastic melanoma, is not treatable with such medications.
The specific treatments used prevent the interaction between the molecule PD-L1 and its receptor, PD-1. When PD-L1 binds to PD-1, the body dampens its immune response. When this signal is blocked, the immune system can activate and attack cancer cells.
Until now, researchers assumed that the density of desmoplastic melanoma tumors would prevent activated immune cells from reaching their targets.
But the study, “High response rate to PD-1 blockade in desmoplastic melanomas,” published in the journal Nature, found that an immunotherapy had a high success rate in patients with this melanoma. The results point to a viable therapy for a cancer that rarely responds to chemotherapy or other, targeted treatments.
Source: Immuno-Oncology News







