IFN Induction No Better Than Observation for Intermediate-risk Melanoma
Source: Oncology Nurse Advisor, February 2017
Induction therapy with intravenous interferon-
-2b was no better than observation alone with respect to relapse-free survival and overall survival for the management of patients with intermediate-risk melanoma, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology has shown.1
Interferon--2b is approved as adjuvant therapy for patients with high-risk surgically resected stage IIB and III melanoma as an intravenous infusion given for 5 days per week for 4 weeks followed by 3 days per week for 11 months. Investigators hypothesized that the major source of benefit from the interferon regimen may be due to the initial induction therapy administered over 4 weeks.
To evaluate the efficacy of 4 weeks of intravenous induction with high-dose interferon compared with observation in patients with surgically resected intermediate-risk melanoma, investigators enrolled 1150 patients with T2bN0, T3a-bN0, T4a-bN0, or T1-4N1a-2a (microscopic) cutaneous melanoma who had undergone surgical resection.