Immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapies are approved for adjuvant treatment of patients with resected melanoma; however, they have not been compared in randomized controlled trials (RCTs).,We compared the efficacy and safety of adjuvant nivolumab with other approved treatments using available evidence from RCTs in a Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA).,A systematic literature review was conducted through May 2019 to identify relevant RCTs evaluating approved adjuvant treatments.,Outcomes of interest included recurrence-free survival (RFS)/disease-free survival (DFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), all-cause grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs), discontinuations, and discontinuations due to AEs.,Time-to-event outcomes (RFS/DFS and DMFS) were analyzed both assuming that hazard ratios (HRs) are constant over time and that they vary.,Of 26 identified RCTs, 19 were included in the NMA following a feasibility assessment.,Based on HRs for RFS/DFS, the risk of recurrence with nivolumab was similar to that of pembrolizumab and lower than that of ipilimumab 3 mg/kg, ipilimumab 10 mg/kg, or interferon.,Risk of recurrence with nivolumab was similar to that of dabrafenib plus trametinib at 12 months, however, was lower beyond 12 months (HR [95% credible interval] at 24 months, 0.46 [0.27-0.78]; at 36 months, 0.28 [0.14-0.59]).,Based on HRs for DMFS, the risk of developing distant metastases was lower with nivolumab than with ipilimumab 10 mg/kg or interferon and was similar to dabrafenib plus trametinib.,Adjuvant therapy with nivolumab provides an effective treatment option with a promising risk-benefit profile.,Supplementary information accompanies this paper at 10.1186/s12885-020-07538-1.
Fascin is a F-actin bundling protein and its overexpression is correlated with poor prognosis and increases metastatic potential in a number of cancers.,But underlying function and mechanism of fascin on tumorigenesis in melanoma remain elusive.,The melanoma cell lines WM793 and WM39 were employed for the soft agar and sphere formation assay.,Quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot were performed for identifying the gene expression at mRNA and protein levels, respectively.,Co-IP and in vitro GST pulldown experiments were used to test the interaction between fascin and MST2.,Fascin regulates tumorigenesis and cancer cell stemness in melanoma through inhibition of the Hippo pathway kinase MST2 and the activation of transcription factor TAZ.,Our data showed that fascin interacts with the kinase domain of MST2 to inhibit its homodimer formation and kinase activity.,Depletion of fascin led to increase of p-LATS level and decrease of TAZ, but not YAP.,We also demonstrated that fascin regulates melanoma tumorigenesis independent of its actin-bundling activity.,Fascin is a new regulator of the MST2-LATS-TAZ pathway and plays a critical role in melanoma tumorigenesis.,Inhibition of fascin reduces melanoma tumorigenesis and stemness, and thus fascin could be a potential therapeutic target for this malignancy.,The online version of this article (10.1186/s12964-018-0250-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.