Adjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy may benefit pediatric
patients with stage III melanoma and sentinel lymph node positivity: a
Case Series
Abstract
Background: Melanoma is the most common skin cancer in
children. While the current literature establishes treatment protocols
for adult-type melanoma, very few pediatric-specific studies exist, and
children are often excluded from melanoma clinical trials
2. Case Report: We report a case series of 23
consecutive pediatric patients diagnosed with melanoma at the University
of Rochester Medical Center between 1/1/2011 and 1/1/2022. 2/23 (8.7%)
patients had recurrence of their malignancy after therapy while 21/23
(91.3%) remained without disease progression; 1 patient died from
unknown cause, but the rest are alive and currently without disease. All
patients whose initial therapy included nivolumab in addition to wide
local excision did not have recurrence or progression of their disease.
Conclusions: This case series highlights trends in the
presentation, treatment, and outcomes of pediatric melanoma; however,
additional multi-center studies are needed to establish the clinical
utility of such features in pediatric melanoma.