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Dermatology Check and Trial Discussion 8/4/11

Had two skin spots shaved for biopsies today:
  • (biopsy result: Seborrheic keratosis): A dark spot on my hand I've noticed for at least 4-5 months. My oncologist looked at it with a dermatiscope 3 months ago and didn't see anything concerning. After starting IPI parts of it started to de-pigment.
  • (biopsy result: just a random skin irritation): A red spot on my right temple that I noticed and probably appeared a day after I started IPI. It started as a hard, raised, red bump. It's since softened and got smaller, but is still there after 5 1/2 weeks.
Should get the results next week (results in parentheses above, 8/9).

Also discussed clinical trials. They think GSK's BRAF+MEK trial could be promising for me. I have a BRAF mutation -- not V600E or V600K (required for most BRAF inhibitor single agent trials). But with the combination of agents, apparently any BRAF muation is acceptable. E.g., on this presentation, it's mentioned that any BRAF mutation, not just V600E, is acceptable for entrance criteria.
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