Dr. Lipson on the Current Treatment Landscape of Basal Cell Carcinoma

Evan J. Lipson, MD, associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University, discusses the current treatment landscape in locally advanced, unresectable, or metastatic basal cell carcinoma.

Treatment for patients with locally advanced, unresectable, or metastatic basal cell carcinoma falls into 2 categories, Lipson says. The first category features hedgehog inhibitors, which include 2 agents currently approved by the FDA: sonidegib (Odomzo) and vismodegib (Erivedge), Lipson explains. These agents are standard-of-care therapy in the frontline setting for patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma, Lipson says.

The second category is comprised of anti–PD-1 therapy, which includes cemiplimab (Libtayo), another FDA-approved agent for the treatment of patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma Lipson continues. Overall, targeted agents and immunotherapy are available and approved in the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma, Lipson concludes.