Confirmed Benefit of Adjuvant Therapy, Not Nodal Dissection, in Stage III Melanoma
Source: Medscape, April 2025
ATHENS, Greece — Real-world data confirm that complete nodal dissection following a positive sentinel lymph node biopsy in patients with stage III melanoma and micrometastases does not significantly reduce the risk for relapse or death.
The retrospective study showed that adjuvant therapy — either targeted therapy or immunotherapy — halved the risk for relapse in these patients, with or without nodal dissection.
This relapse reduction, however, did not translate into improved overall survival, said Gabriele Roccuzzo, MD, a clinical dermatologist at the University of Turin, Turin, Italy, who reported the results at the 11th World Congress of Melanoma (WCM) and 21st EADO Congress 2025.