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Immune checkpoint inhibitors in melanoma

    Adam J Cooper

    Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    School of Medicine, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Melanoma Institute Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    ,
    Matteo S Carlino

    *Author for correspondence:

    E-mail Address: matteo.carlino@sydney.edu.au

    Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    School of Medicine, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Melanoma Institute Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Westmead Institute for Cancer Research, University of Sydney at the Westmead Millennium Institute, Westmead, NSW, Australia

    &
    Richard F Kefford

    Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    School of Medicine, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Melanoma Institute Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Westmead Institute for Cancer Research, University of Sydney at the Westmead Millennium Institute, Westmead, NSW, Australia

    Department of Clinical Medicine, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Published Online:https://doi.org/10.2217/mmt.15.17

    The potential to harness the power of the immune system and effectively treat patients with metastatic melanoma is finally being realized with the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors. These new therapies herald a new era in the treatment of melanoma with the potential to produce very durable responses and possible cure for a subset of patients, though bring with them challenges including novel toxicities and nonconventional response patterns. This article reviews the currently available immune checkpoint inhibitors, potential biomarkers to predict response and promising investigational approaches including combination therapies.

    Papers of special note have been highlighted as: • of interest; •• of considerable interest

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