Providence Melanoma Program
Providence Melanoma Program
At Providence Cancer Institute, melanoma patients and their families benefit from some of the most comprehensive cancer service.
- Breakthrough immunotherapy treatment and clinical trials for new therapies with significant survival rates
- Our team of medical, surgical and radiation oncologists partner with nurses, researchers, patient advocates and other caregivers to aggressively treat melanoma and to ensure that nobody has to face cancer alone
- Advanced diagnostic imaging
- Compassionate support through every step of your care and follow-up
Of the three main skin cancers, melanoma presents the greatest public health concern: The number of Americans with melanoma has doubled about every 20 years; Oregon has the fifth highest incidence of melanoma in the U.S. Many systemic therapies have been tested for melanoma during the past 50 years, with generally disappointing results, but recent advancements in cancer immunotherapy research and clinical trials have spawned new therapies with significant survival benefits.
Providence has been an innovator in combination immunotherapy clinical trials. We were among the first to demonstrate the immune-boosting potential of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT) when given along with another immune booster, high-dose Interleukin-2, to patients with metastatic melanoma. We have many clinical trials for patients with stage III and IV melanoma that may again improve the standard of care for melanoma patients:
- Intra-tumoral injections of viruses that can infect melanoma given with ipilimumab
- Medicines that can change the tumor microenvironment to promote immune response (GR-MD-02) with ipilimumab
- Vaccines for patients with earlier stages of melanoma (DEC205-NY-ESO-1)
- Combinations of T-cell checkpoint and immune boosting antibodies like ipilimumab and nivolumab