Moffitt Investigators Discover Desmoplastic Melanoma Type Highly Responsive to Immunotherapy

TAMPA, Fla. – Desmoplastic melanoma is a rare subtype of melanoma that is commonly found on sun-exposed areas, such as the head and neck, and usually seen in older patients. Treatment is difficult because these tumors are often resistant to chemotherapy and lack actionable mutations commonly found in other types of melanoma that are targeted by specific drugs. However, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers report in the Jan. 10 issue of Nature that patients with desmoplastic melanoma are more responsive to immune-activating anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapies than previously assumed.

• Nature volume 553, pages 347–350 (18 January 2018) doi:10.1038/nature25187