Treatment of Cutaneous Metastases With Diphenylcyclopropenone (DPCP)
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2015-06-22
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Melanoma is a life-threatening cancer which poses a significant health burden, especially
when metastatic or spreading to areas other than the original tumor growth. Although various
treatment options are currently available for melanoma, melanomas that have metastasized
widely to the skin pose a significant clinical challenge as the available therapies have
limited effect. This study proposes the use of a topically applied compound named
diphenylcyclopropenone (DPCP) which has been shown to be effective in treating melanoma
patients whose diseases have spread widely throughout the skin. DPCP works by having a
patient's own immune system, which is usually used to fight infections, attack cancerous
cells. This compound has commonly been used to treat other conditions such as warts and hair
loss throughout the world for many years and is known to cause limited side effects. Altering
a patient's own immune system through topical treatments has also been shown to benefit
patients with other cancers that have metastasized to skin such as breast cancer. In this
study, the investigators will use DPCP to treat cutaneous metastases of various cancers
including melanoma. Our overall intention is to get a better understanding of effective
immune responses in the skin that may mediate metastatic cancer regression or cure.