For decades there has been no change or advancement in treatment for those diagnosed with metastatic uveal melanoma. But recently, a new kind of immunotherapy developed by biotechnology company Immunocore is changing the standard for what survival looks like.
Uveal Melanoma is a rare cancer that is found in the middle layer of the eye. About 1,500 to 2,000 people are diagnosed with it every year. And even after a first round of treatment, for about half of those diagnosed, the disease returns this time spreading to the liver.
Read More"When we looked at the survival of these patients who cleared their ctDNA blood, these are the patients who had the longest survival," Dr. Dar said.
Could measuring tumor DNA over tumor shrinkage on skin be a new way of measuring treatment success rates? Dr. Dar thinks it is a possibility. And with the success of KIMMTRAK, he is very excited for future advancements in treatment for the disease.
"Historically, nothing had moved the needle, so no one really focused on it and now it's shed light that there is actually hope," Dr. Dar said. "There's more treatments that people are now evaluating for metastatic uveal melanoma. So it's a great time for research and development."
KIMMTRAK is FDA-approved and to be eligible, a patient must be diagnosed with metastatic uveal melanoma or ocular melanoma. A patient also has to do a blood test to see if they have a special marker on the surface of their tumor cells called an HLA Allele.
Immunocore also announced at ASCO that they are expanding their research to see if KIMMTRAK could also be used to treat the most common melanoma skin melanoma or cutaneous melanoma. The new study will be launched in the United States and Europe.
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