Melanoma Canada – Advocacy in Action
Adjuvant Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) Stage IIb & IIc
With the help of our patient community, we prepared a patient feedback drug submission in support of adjuvant pembrolizumab for stage IIb and IIc patients. As you may already know, stage IIb & IIc can be even more aggressive than stage IIIa. This is an incredible milestone for melanoma treatment. Having immunotherapy available for earlier intervention for melanoma patients is a big step towards stopping this disease in its tracks and may prevent many cases of recurrence or metastatic disease in the future. We received an overwhelming response from patients for our pCODR submission for adjuvant Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) Pembrolizumab, which is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adult and pediatric (12 years and older) patients with stage IIb or IIc melanoma following complete resection. As soon as we are informed of the recommendation, which we hope is positive, we will post, so stay tuned.
Uveal Melanoma – Kimmtrak Immunotherapy
In mid-May, Melanoma Canada provided a submission for a new drug therapy to the pan Canadian Oncology Drug Review (pCODR) on behalf of patients with a rare form of melanoma called uveal melanoma. Uveal melanoma is a rare cancer that begins in the cells that make the dark-colored pigment, called melanin, in the uvea or uveal tract of the eye. There are approximately 150 cases in Canada on an annual basis.
Currently, the most widely used first-line treatment options for uveal melanoma are resection, radiation therapy, and enucleation. Although these therapies often provide some local disease control, long-term survival rate for patients with uveal melanoma remains low, with risk for liver metastasis. There have been advances in early diagnosis over the past few years, as well as genetic testing, and the hope is survival rates could improve as smaller tumors are treated.
The new drug therapy Tebentafusp (Kimmtrak) is a breakthrough immunotherapy for treatment of unresectable or metastatic uveal melanoma and is showing very positive results for some patients. Melanoma Canada surveyed uveal melanoma patients to provide input for our submission in support of approval of this drug therapy. While the therapy has been approved by Health Canada, the therapy needs to receive a positive recommendation from pCODR and then proceed through price negotiations with the provinces to have the therapy covered by provincially, which takes time. Fortunately, there is temporary access through a bridging program while we wait for the process to be completed. If you are experiencing issues in accessing treatment, do not hesitate to contact our office to see if we can assist.
For further information on treatment therapies, check out our website, consult your oncologist and to learn about clinical trials for melanoma and skin cancer in Canada, visit https://www.canadiancancertrials.ca/ .
New Canadian Precision Oncology Trial Finder
The Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials Network has released a new trial finder, designed to assist cancer patients, their caregivers, and the research community in search for active Canadian Cancer trials. Please note the trial finder is best supported by PC devices
Visit our clinical trials page.
