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Melanoma and COVID ‐19: A narrative review focused on treatment
Author(s) -
Elmas Ömer Faruk,
Demirbaş Abdullah,
Düzayak Serkan,
Atasoy Mustafa,
Türsen Ümit,
Lotti Torello
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
dermatologic therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1529-8019
pISSN - 1396-0296
DOI - 10.1111/dth.14101
Subject(s) - medicine , covid-19 , pandemic , coronavirus infections , medline , betacoronavirus , virology , dermatology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , disease , outbreak , political science , law
Abstract Melanoma is the most severe form of skin cancer and its incidence has increased over the past few decades. COVID‐19 pandemic affected the diagnosis and management of many diseases including melanoma. In this study, we aimed to provide a review focused on the diagnosis and management of melanoma in the era of COVID‐19. A comprehensive search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases using the keywords “melanoma,” “coronavirus,” “COVID 19,” and “SARS‐CoV‐2.” The relevant guidelines published by the European Society for Medical Oncology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network were also included. The current guidelines recommend that surgical interventions for new diagnosis of invasive primary melanoma, patients with postoperative complications, wide resection and sentinel lymph node biopsy for newly diagnosed T3‐T4 melanoma, and planned surgical procedures for patients in neo‐adjuvant trials should be prioritized. Surgical treatment of T3/T4 melanomas should be prioritized over T1/T2 melanomas except for any melanoma in which large clinical residual lesion is visible. Adjuvant therapies can be postponed for up to 12 weeks depending on the local center circumstances. PD‐1 inhibitor monotherapy is recommended for patients starting immunologic therapy. Combination immunotherapy is still considered suitable for patients with higher‐risk disease. Encorafenib and binimetinib should be prioritized for patients requiring BRAF‐targeted therapy due to the lower chance of symptoms mimicking COVID‐19 infection.