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Diagnosis and Management of Dermatologic Adverse Events from Systemic Melanoma Therapies

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Abstract

The advent of protein kinase inhibitors and immunotherapy has profoundly improved the management of advanced melanoma. However, with these therapeutic advancements also come drug-related toxicities that have the potential to affect various organ systems. We review dermatologic adverse events from targeted (including BRAF and MEK inhibitor-related) and less commonly used melanoma treatments, with a focus on diagnosis and management. As immunotherapy-related toxicities have been extensively reviewed, herein, we discuss injectable talimogene laherparepvec and touch on recent breakthroughs in the immunotherapy space. Dermatologic adverse events may severely impact quality of life and are associated with response and survival. It is therefore essential that clinicians are aware of their diverse presentations and management strategies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Center for Cutaneous Oncology, Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Christopher J. Fay, Blair S. Allais, Cecilia A. Larocca & Nicole R. LeBoeuf

  2. Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL, USA

    Samantha Jakuboski

  3. Department of Dermatology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA

    Beth Mclellan

  4. Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Yevgeniy Semenov

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  1. Christopher J. Fay
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The authors declare no conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Nicole R. LeBoeuf is a consultant and has received honoraria from Bayer, Seattle Genetics, Sanofi, Silverback, and Synox Therapeutics outside the scope of the submitted work.

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Fay, C.J., Jakuboski, S., Mclellan, B. et al. Diagnosis and Management of Dermatologic Adverse Events from Systemic Melanoma Therapies. Am J Clin Dermatol 24, 765–785 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40257-023-00790-8

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