This symposium will provide an overview of recent advances in the treatment of melanoma and ongoing clinical trials. Topics explored during the symposium will include emerging therapeutic options such as the targeted agents and immunotherapies. The didactic presentations will be combined with discussions on contemporary topics in melanoma management, thus allowing for an interactive exchange of critical clinical information.

Target Audience
This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists, as well as allied oncology healthcare professionals who treat melanoma.



Needs Assessment
Some improvements have occurred in the management of melanoma over the past decade. One of the most widely studied approaches to the field of cancer is treatment strategies incorporating new agents and novel combinations. Despite these advances, uncertainties remain. With novel pharmacological agents and treatment strategies, the decision-making process for oncology healthcare professionals involved in the treatment of melanoma is challenging, thereby requiring in-depth knowledge of current clinical and experimental data for the appropriate integration of new therapeutics into clinical practice. Because of this, healthcare professionals caring for patients with melanoma need to understand the basis for treatment approaches likely to change clinical practice in the next few years, as well as the preclinical and clinical data supporting the development and integration of these therapies into practice.



Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this educational activity, participants should be better able to:

• Discuss the melanoma therapeutic landscape in terms of strengths, weaknesses and opportunities
• Describe basic melanoma biology and rationale for the development and use of new therapeutic approaches, including the use of targeted agents and immunotherapies
• Review the mechanism of action of anti-CTLA-4 antibodies with regard to overcoming immunologic tolerance
• Provide an overview of the clinical experience with anti-CTLA-4 antibodies including antitumor activity, kinetics of response and the management of associated immune-related adverse events
• Identify clinical trends that may change the accepted management approaches of metastatic melanoma
• Review and compare clinical outcomes and endpoints in order to interpret and establish which clinical trials are the most meaningful to improving patient care for melanoma patients

Alexander Eggermont, MD, PhD (Chair)
Erasmus University Medical Center
Rotterdam, Netherlands


Jürgen Becker, MD, PhD
Julius-Maximilians University
Würzburg, Germany


Mark Middleton, MD, PhD
University of Oxford
Oxford, United Kingdom


Jeffrey Weber, MD, PhD
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
Tampa, Florida

19.30-19.35		Welcome and Introduction  Alexander Eggermont, MD, PhD
19.35-19.55		An Overview of the Current Therapeutic Landscape: An Assessment of Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities  Mark Middleton, MD, PhD
19.55-20.15		Identifying Targets for Melanoma Therapy: The Importance of Immunomodulation  Jürgen Becker, MD, PhD
20.15-20.35		Enhancing the Anti-melanoma Activity of T Cells by Targeting CTLA4 Receptors  Jeffrey Weber, MD, PhD
20.35-20.55		What’s Next for Advanced Melanoma?  Alexander Eggermont, MD, PhD
20.55-21.25		Panel Discussion With Specific Questions Identified in Advance  All Faculty
21.25-21.30		Concluding Remarks  Alexander Eggermont, MD, PhD