UPDATE! Stage IV Decision-Support Tool
The Decision-Support Tool has been updated to reflect changes in therapeutic options, including emerging options and longer-term data on established regimens. We’d like to thank Tamara Dawson and her team, of the Melanoma & Skin Cancer Advocacy Network, for their careful review of this content update.
Welcome to this guide, Stage IV Melanoma Treatment Options: Making the Decision That’s Right for You. You can use this guide to discuss therapeutic options for managing Stage IV melanoma with your patients.
The document addresses
- Stage IV melanoma clinical picture, biomarkers and pathology, and disease and patient factors involved in decision making
- Efficacy, safety, and administration of targeted therapies, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and other therapies used for stage IV melanoma
- Management of brain metastases, including radiation therapy
- Clinical trials, including an overview of emerging therapies being studied
- Diagnosis (including biopsy techniques) as well as an overview of imaging
Developed in collaboration with the Melanoma Skin Cancer Advocacy Network (MSCAN).
New videos from oncology experts! Immunotherapy Combination Therapy: Current and Emerging Approaches
In this video series, Lavinia Spain, MBBS(Hons), BMedSci FRACP, from Peter MacCallum Cancer Center discusses current and emerging perspectives on the use of combination immunotherapy in oncology. These videos, developed for the Australian audience, discuss the rationale for combination therapy, the data supporting the combination approaches, patient selection for combination immunotherapy versus other options, managing the more complex side effects associated with this approach, as well as new strategies of combined immunotherapy. We hope that this content will be useful for you to select and manage the best immunotherapy regimens for your cancer patients.
Rationale for Combined Immunotherapy
What are the data to support the use of combination Immunotherapy?
Patient Selection for Combination Immunotherapy
Managing the Complex Adverse Effect Profile of Combination Immunotherapy
Emerging Strategies for Combination Immunotherapy
Stage III Decision- Support Materials
Updated Stage III Decision Support Tool
The Decision-Support Tool has been updated with information you need to know about outcomes for Stage III melanoma, long-term data for adjuvant therapies, and additional resources, including content specific for caregivers.
Developed in collaboration with the Melanoma & Skin Cancer Advocacy Network.
New Stage III Companion Piece
Want to learn how to use the Stage III Decision-Support Tool? Peruse frequently asked questions about Stage III melanoma and learn how to use the support tool to guide your decision making.
Developed in collaboration with Melanoma & Skin Cancer Advocacy Network.
New! BRAF Q&A Compendium
BRAF in Melanoma: Answering Questions, Addressing Misconceptions
In the resources provided below, the AIM at Melanoma Foundation provides answers to questions and addresses misconceptions raised by patients regarding BRAF in melanoma. The patient-directed resources address what BRAF is, the role of BRAF in melanoma, what BRAF mutational status means, testing for BRAF, and the implications of the test results for treatment planning. The answers are provided by Lisa Kottschade, APRN, MSN, CNP, Associate Professor of Oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and an expert faculty member of the Melanoma Nursing Initiative.
We thank Novartis Pharmaceuticals for an unrestricted educational grant in support of this important educational initiative. We also thank Tamara Dawson, of the Melanoma & Skin Cancer Advocacy Network, for her review and customization of these materials for the Australian audience.
Print out this pamphlet, which provides Ms. Kottschade’s commentary for specific questions/statements about BRAF.
BRAF Q&A Videos
Click on the videos below to watch Ms. Kottschade’s commentary about BRAF. Below the videos, we have also listed some resources patients might find helpful as they navigate BRAF testing and management of their melanoma.
ABOUT BRAF
“What Is BRAF?”
“So BRAF is inherited. If my parents have the mutation, I will inherit it.”
“If I have a BRAF mutation, does that mean I need to get screened for other cancers?”
WHAT YOUR BRAF STATUS MEANS
“I am young, so it makes sense that my tumour would have a BRAF mutation.”
“I am BRAF positive. That’s bad. It means my tumour will come back.”
“I am BRAF negative. That means I am going to be OK.”
“You need to know your BRAF status, because it will tell you how you developed your melanoma and what you need to avoid so you don’t develop another one.”
BRAF TESTING
“Who should be tested for BRAF?”
“How is the BRAF test performed?”
“How long does the test take to perform?”
BRAF TESTING AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUR TREATMENT OPTIONS
“If I am BRAF positive, it means I’m being treated with regular chemotherapy.”
“If I find out that I’m BRAF positive, then I’ll have to take the “BRAF drug” before they allow me to take the really good medicine, immunotherapy.”
“If I am BRAF negative, I won’t be able to get an effective therapy.”
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