Real-world effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors and BRAF/MEK inhibitors among veteran patients with cutaneous melanoma

To the Editor: The Veterans Health Administration is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, caring for more than 9 million individuals. 1 About VHA - Veterans Health Administration. https://www.va.gov/health/aboutvha.aspDate accessed: November 1, 2022 Google Scholar Despite higher cutaneous melanoma (CM) risk and poorer melanoma-specific survival (MSS), Veterans Affairs patients have been historically underrepresented in national datasets and clinical trials. 2 Chang M.S. La J. Trepanowski N. et al. Increased relative proportions of advanced melanoma among veterans: a comparative analysis with the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Registry. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2022; 87: 72-79https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2022.02.063 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar , 3 Hartman R.I. La J. Chang M.S. et al. Risk factors for thick melanoma among veterans: a cross-sectional study. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2021; 84: 1766-1769https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2020.12.069 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (4) Google Scholar , 4 Howlader N. Ries L.A. Stinchcomb D.G. Edwards B.K. The impact of underreported Veterans Affairs data on National Cancer Statistics: analysis using population-based SEER registries. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2009; 101: 533-536https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djn517 Crossref PubMed Scopus (53) Google Scholar We examined the real-world effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors and BRAF/MEK inhibitors (BRAF/MEKi) among veteran patients with CM in the adjuvant and systemic settings to better understand treatment response in this high-risk population.