Researchers find new way to manage aggressive skin cancer

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An advanced form of skin cancer that has previously been treated through chemotherapy could now be managed with an immunotherapy drug.

That’s according to a study led by LSU Health New Orleans professor and chief of surgical oncology Adam Riker. The results of the study are published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Researchers looked at whether pembrolizumab could help patients use their immune systems to fight advanced Merkel cell carcinoma. They found that the drug controlled tumors with generally manageable side effects and improved overall survival rates, a news release said.

Pembrolizumab has been recommended as a drug to be taken following chemotherapy. But the study “shows the amazing ability of our immune system to fight off and destroy an aggressive form of skin cancer,” Riker said.

“The study drug, pembrolizumab, which is a new form of immunotherapy, blocks a specific receptor in our bodies, resulting in a super charging of our immune system to both recognize and destroy cancer cells,” he said. “The overall impressive results show that this form of immunotherapy is quite effective, giving us an important treatment option for patients with Merkel Cell Carcinoma that has spread within the body.”

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