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Background: Sinonasal mucosal melanoma has poor survival despite multimodality treatment. While the impact of immunotherapy (IT) on metastatic cutaneous melanoma is well-defined, there are relatively little data on sinonasal mucosal melanoma. Objective: We sought to define immunotherapy outcomes in patients with sinonasal mucosal melanoma. Methods: A retrospective cohort study evaluated patients treated with IT during their overall treatment strategy for SNMM. Patient demographics, treatment, and survival outcomes were recorded. Results: 52 patients had IT treatment for SNMM from 2000 to 2022, with an average age of 69.1 ± 11.9 years. The most common treatment was surgery with radiation and IT (n = 26, 50%). Most regimens consisted of a combination of Nivolumab and Ipilimumab (n = 17, 32.7%) or pembrolizumab (n = 14, 26.9%). 44.2% of patients experienced reported complications. Overall survival at 1-, 2-, and 5 years was 86.9%, 74.1%, and 39.1%, respectively. Conclusion: Approximately half of patients will have a local response following immunotherapy, but it is rare to have improvement at metastatic locations. Further research within our group will assess optimal timing and markers that are predictive of response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the impact of health literacy on patients with anterior skull base lesions, highlighting how inadequate health literacy can lead to poorer outcomes and larger tumor sizes. A study conducted on 29 patients found that 24.1% were inadequately literate in at least one aspect of their medical care. Patients with poorer health literacy were less likely to remember to take their medications and had larger tumor volumes. The findings suggest that addressing health literacy is crucial for improving patient care and outcomes in this population. [Extracted from the article]

The article published in the Journal of Neurological Surgery. Part B. Skull Base discusses a prospective evaluation of skull base reconstruction enhancement patterns, surgical repair techniques, and their association with cerebrospinal fluid leaks. The study focuses on patients who underwent endoscopic transnasal transsphenoidal surgery for anterior skull base lesions and evaluates the vascularity of pedicled flaps used in reconstruction. Results show that there was no direct association between the vascularity of the nasoseptal flap and cerebrospinal fluid leaks, but the use of intranasal foley bolstering was linked to higher leak rates. Further research is needed to explore the potential association between sphenoid pneumatization patterns and leak rates. [Extracted from the article]