Irish Melanoma Forum 12th Annual Meeting
The Irish Melanoma Forum 12th Annual Scientific Meeting took place this month on Thursday 2nd May.
Hospital Professional News recently spoke to Professor Shirley Potter and Professor Des Tobin, Co-chairs of the Forum to learn more about this year’s line-up. Topics to be discussed for 2024 include clinical research in phenotypes, biomarkers and histopathology; perioperative systemic therapy in melanoma and phenotypic plasticity in melanoma.
Desmond J. Tobin is Full Professor of Dermatological Science and Director of The Charles Institute of Dermatology at the UCD School of Medicine, Dublin. He researches in basic and applied skin/hair sciences, with a focus on skin/ hair pigmentation in health and disease (incl. melanoma) and on hair growth disorders, especially alopecia areata. He is a recent past president of the British Society for Investigative Dermatology.
Professor Shirley Potter is a Consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and Associate Clinical Professor at the UCD School of Medicine. In her clinical practice she specialises in melanoma, advanced skin cancer, and head and neck microvascular reconstruction. She supervises translational research at the Conway Institute in UCD and is the chief investigator for Ireland for the internationally recruiting MelmarT trial investigating surgical margins in melanoma.
Professor Tobin explains, “I joined as IMF co-chair after discussion with Shirley. We both felt that there would be benefits for having clinical and basic researcher experience front and central in the IMF leadership. This was a departure from how the IMF was previously run (only clinical).”
The work of the Forum is currently largely focused on the upcoming 12th Annual Scientific Conference. Professor Tobin adds that while this event is still largely clinical, researchers are also now joining. “Remarkably there is very little basic research on human skin cancer currently in Ireland, even less melanoma. This is largely due to poor research funding for human skin cancer research in Ireland. Money tends to be focused on animal models e.g., laboratory inbred mice and fish models.”
Professor Potter adds, “We would encourage specialists from all disciplines to get involved. Melanoma management is multidisciplinary, and therefore melanoma research should be multidisciplinary. By attending the Irish Melanoma Forum, specialists are exposed to unique insights of other disciplines and we would hope that this encourages cross collaboration in clinical and basic research.”
So where does Ireland stand in the management and treatment of melanoma compared to European counterparts? Professor Potter says, “The incidence of, and mortality from, Melanoma in Ireland ranks among the highest in Europe.
“This is largely due to the Irish fair skin type, combined with increasing sun exposure, and a historical lack of awareness of the damage that UV exposure causes. Thankfully, due to public health campaigns, awareness is improving and behaviours are starting to change. The damage is already done for a certain proportion of the population, and for this reason we are expecting what is being described as a melanoma epidemic, with incidence expected to increase exponentially up to at least 2040. This, combined with the explosion of non-melanoma skin cancer in the aging and immunosuppressed populations, will put significant strain on our already stretched health systems. Ireland unfortunately lags behind in terms of approvals for, and access to, new therapeutic options, that are available to melanoma patients internationally.
“Despite intense lobbying by advocacy groups such as the Irish Cancer Society, and Melanoma Support Ireland, inequalities in access to drugs continue to exist and Irish melanoma patients are suffering as a consequence, this needs to be urgently addressed.”
She goes on to add, “Melanoma management is in an exciting period of change. New therapeutics are coming on stream, both targeted therapies and immunotherapies and the combinations and timings which these drugs are given is changing. Drugs are being given to earlier stages of disease and drugs are being used to downsize tumour burden prior to surgery, with significant improvements in survival.
“Melanoma management is becoming more and more personalised to each individual patient, with tumours being profiled to give more information on how a given tumour might behave or respond to treatment. Melanoma patients are living longer, and the quality of life of survivors is improving. It is difficult to keep up, there is so much change, but this is a great thing for melanoma patients.”
Looking at future developments in the field, Professor Tobin notes a desire for, “A greater focus on human skin cancer basic research, especially in melanoma, in Ireland. We need to build significant capacity, including via lowering unnecessarily-restrictive ethics and bio-banking hurdles common in Ireland. Non-uveal melanoma patients are justified in questioning why most current research efforts focus on animal models (esp. mouse and fish) rather than actual human melanoma patient tissue samples.
“Checkpoint inhibitors and Neoadjuvant therapy are another 2 opportunities we are looking forward to.
“It is also hoped that Dermatology Specialists will begin to appreciate more the value of academic dermatology, which is at risk in my opinion after a period of strength over the last few decades. We need to urgently build capacity in this area.”
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