Perioperative Treatment Strategies for Advanced Melanoma and Non-Melanoma Skin Cancers

Authors

Kennedy H. Sun, Department of Dermatology, George Washington University, Washington, DC.
Sach Thakker, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC.
Jonathan Greenzaid, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC.
Micah Belzberg, Department of Dermatology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD; Department of Dermatology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH.
David M. Miller, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine and the Department of Dermatology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Vishal A. Patel, Department of Dermatology, George Washington University, Washington, DC. Electronic address: vpatel@mfa.gwu.edu.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

10-6-2025

Journal

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology

DOI

10.1016/j.jaad.2025.09.098

Keywords

cutaneous oncology; dermatologic surgery; immunotherapy; neoadjuvant; perioperative

Abstract

Perioperative therapies, including neoadjuvant and neoadjuvant plus adjuvant, are developing and promising approaches to improve management of cutaneous malignancies. This review summarizes key studies of perioperative therapies to guide clinical practice in treatment of melanoma, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and Merkel cell carcinoma. The clinical trials and real-world studies reviewed routinely demonstrated that perioperative strategies, especially with immune checkpoint inhibitors, yielded high pathological response rates, improved survival, reduced treatment side effects, and decreased surgical morbidity. Moreover, perioperative therapies could enable treatment step down and even avoidance of surgery altogether.

APA Citation

Sun, Kennedy H.; Thakker, Sach; Greenzaid, Jonathan; Belzberg, Micah; Miller, David M.; and Patel, Vishal A., "Perioperative Treatment Strategies for Advanced Melanoma and Non-Melanoma Skin Cancers" (2025). GW Authored Works. Paper 8307.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/8307

Department

Dermatology