CLEVELAND — We love the sun in Northeast Ohio, but we also need to respect it. Too much of it — too many sunburns, too much time unprotected — can be dangerous and potentially lead to skin cancer.
"That's why it's important to wear sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 and broad spectrum protection," University Hospitals dermatologist Dr. Kord Honda says.
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Honda also suggests those who are fair-skinned or those who have a family history of skin cancer be sure to make a yearly appointment with a dermatologist for a skin check, and to keep an eye on any changes in moles.
While surgery is the first line of treatment in cases of Melanoma, in cases of advanced disease, there is new hope. Cleveland Clinic is one of 23 facilities in the country offering a new type of FDA-approved immunotherapy made from the patient's own tumor. The treatment is approved for those who have not had success with other therapy options.
Tumor cells are removed and cancer fighting immune cells are identified within them. Those cells are then multiplied and reinfused back into the patient through an IV, and the patient's own immune system can then identify and fight their own type of cancer.
"This is the first-of-its-kind personalized immunotherapy for patients with melanoma who've progressed on prior therapies," Dr. Thach-Giao Truong, an oncologist with Cleveland Clinic, told 3News. "It is very unique, because it's a treatment that's made ... directly from patients' own tumors."
Immunotherapy-based treatments are very effective ways to fight melanoma. Truong says eight-year data from older methods of immune treatment strategies show 80% of people who respond to initial treatment continue to do well off medication.
"Today, we know that if you get a response, you know, on treatment, we'll see that relatively early in the first few months, that you have a very great chance of being one of those 80% at eight years," Truong added. "Think about that, and in just a short while, the survival from melanoma since the advent of immunotherapy, you know, it's now at five years more than half of people remain alive with stage 4 disease."