Recurrence- help please
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Recurrence- help please

› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Recurrence- help please

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    • October 18, 2023 at 8:48 am
    space oddity
    Participant
    My husband had his first surgery for melanoma in 2014. There was a recurrence in a lump in 2016 and treatment began: ipilimumab at first and then tafinlar, but there was another lump under the skin so he had to stop. Then,keytruda was introduced. He was taking keytruda for almost three years, until 2020.
    For three years he was NED until a we noticed a small pimple-like spot in the region, with a suspicious black colour. Today, he was told it is melanoma. We don’t have the whole report yet.

    What are his options? It was a tiny little spot in the area he had his first recurrence. What a disappointment.. we try to stay strong.

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      • October 18, 2023 at 9:52 am
      Bubbles
      Participant
      Sorry you are dealing with this.

      But there are options. Immunotherapy again. If NED in all other parts of his body, limb perfusion therapy might be an option if you are talking about a local recurrence in an extremity. Possible intralesional therapy, where the lesion is injected directly. And…if none of those seem wise, then sometimes surgical excision is a good idea.

      Some links to articles you might find helpful –

      Intransit mets/limb perfusion

      Intralesional therapy

      Excision

      Further, there are various new treatments as well as trials that might be beneficial. Whatever treatment you and your oncologist decide upon – there is hope. Wishing you and your husband my best. Celeste

        • October 18, 2023 at 11:54 am
        space oddity
        Participant
        Thank you so much for your answer. So, it is possible to continue with immunotherapy, even two years after it was discontinued? That’s probably a relief.
        Also, can we feel optimistic about the fact that his recurrences were always locoregional?
      • October 18, 2023 at 8:01 pm
      Bubbles
      Participant
      Yes. Immunotherapy can be used after progression even though you were treated with immunotherapy already.

      Here are many articles that discuss that issue: Immunotherapy after Progression

      Local recurrences are much better than melanoma in lots of parts of your body. I would think that your husband would need evaluation of his brain and body at this time. However, fingers crossed that no other issues will be found.
      c

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