Combination approaches and anti-PD1 therapies: the focus of new research at ESMO and SMR.

Research into the treatment of melanoma is continuing to progress, and both the European Society of Medical Oncology (26-30 September, Madrid, Spain) and the Society of Melanoma Research (13-16 November, Zurich, Switzerland) 2014 annual meetings provided important updates in this field. Areas of particular focus included combinations of a BRAF inhibitor with a MEK inhibitor (COMBI-v and CoBRIM trials) and new data on anti-PD1 therapies (nivolumab and pembrolizumab). Overall, the data reported at these two meetings again suggest that melanoma is perhaps the most dynamic field of oncology, with continuing advances in management of the disease that may improve outcomes for patients in clinical practice.