Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39438074›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of dermatology2025

Combined programmed cell death protein 1 and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 blockade in an international cohort of patients with acral lentiginous melanoma.

Erin McGillivray, Karam Ashouri, Eftychia Chatziioannou, Jesús Antonio Ocejo Gallegos, Jabra Zarka, Jacob Kechter, Angelina S Hwang, Kevin Zhang, Milton Barros, Justin Yeh and 34 more

Abstract readMulticenter Study
In one paragraph

Article in The British journal of dermatology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. SPP1Cell death & disease · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
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  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

44 authors.

Erin McGillivrayDepartment of Medicine, USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1293-8827
Karam AshouriDepartment of Medicine, USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Eftychia ChatziioannouORCID 0000-0002-7843-7160
Jesús Antonio Ocejo Gallegos
Jabra Zarka
Jacob Kechter
Kevin Zhang
Milton Barros
Justin Yeh
Ian Okazaki
Andrew B Crocker
Soo J Park
Jacob Choi
Mia Andreoli
Tarneem Darwish
David J Savage
Kevin B Kim
Jayant Gupta
James Shen
Keisuke Shirai
April Choi
Lori Pai
Vinicius de Lima Vazquez
Justin Moser
Teresa Amaral
Leonel F Hernandez Aya
Jose Lutzky
Yana G Najjar
Collin M Costello
Aaron R Mangold
Shailender Bhatia
Geoffrey T Gibney
Jeffrey M Farma
Gregory A Daniels
Jeffrey Sosman
Sunandana Chandra
Ankit Mangla
Kathryn Bollin
Patrícia Abrão Possik
Carla Daniela Robles-Espinoza
Fumito Ito
Gino K InDepartment of Medicine, USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Funding

Translational Engineering in Cancer (TEC)P30CA023108 · NCI · DARTMOUTH COLLEGE · PI Fred W Kolling IV · 1985 to 2026
$91.3M
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA023108NIH HHS
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCombination immune checkpoint blockade targeting programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) leads to high response rates and improved survival in patients with advanced cutaneous melanoma (CM). Less is known about the efficacy of this combination in acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM).

objectivesTo determine the efficacy of combination immune checkpoint blockade targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4 in a diverse, real-world population of patients with ALM.

methodsThis multi-institutional retrospective study analysed patients with histologically confirmed ALM treated with a combination of PD-1 and CTLA-4 inhibitors between 2010 and 2022. The primary objective of the study was the objective response rate (ORR) as per the RECIST criteria. The secondary objectives were progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS).

resultsIn total, 109 patients with advanced ALM treated with combined PD-1 and CTLA-4 blockade in any line of treatment were included. The majority of patients had stage IV disease (n = 81; 74.3%). The ORR for the entire cohort was 18.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) 11.6-26.9], with 9 (8.3%) complete and 11 (10.1%) partial responses. A further 22 patients (20.2%) had stable disease, and the disease control rate was 38.5%. Median PFS was 4.2 months (95% CI 3.25-5.62), while median OS was 17 months (95% CI 12.4-23.1). Ninety-five patients (87.2%) had a treatment-related adverse event, with 40.4% (n = 44/109) experiencing at least one grade 3 or 4 toxicity. Elevated lactate dehydrogenase (P = 0.04), ≥ 2 lines of prior treatment (P = 0.03) and Asian ethnicity (P = 0.04) were associated with worse OS, while Hispanic/Latino ethnicity was associated with better OS (P = 0.02).

conclusionsCombination PD-1 and CTLA-4 blockade is less effective for ALM than for CM, despite similar toxicity. In particular, Asian patients appear to derive less benefit from this regimen. Novel treatment approaches are needed for this rare melanoma subtype.

Indexed as

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsCTLA-4 AntigenImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsMelanomaProgrammed Cell Death 1 ReceptorSkin NeoplasmsAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedProgression-Free SurvivalRetrospective StudiesTreatment OutcomeCTLA-4 AntigenCTLA4 protein, humanImmune Checkpoint InhibitorsPDCD1 protein, humanProgrammed Cell Death 1 Receptor

Identifiers

PMID39438074
PMCPMC11758508

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.