Optimizing Adjuvant Strategies Extends RFS in High-Risk Melanoma
Source: Targeted Oncology, March 2019
Current treatment paradigms for melanoma indicate that most patients with node-positive, stage III disease will go on to receive adjuvant therapy with either anti–PD-1 immunotherapy or targeted BRAF/MEK inhibitor combinations, according to a presentation by Sanjiv S. Agarwala, MD, of St. Luke’s Cancer Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.1
In his presentation at the 2019 Annual Practical Recommendations in Immuno and Molecular Oncology Meeting in Maui, Hawaii, Agarwala reviewed survival statistics of patients with melanoma being treated at different stages of their disease. Patients with distant metastases have 5-year survival rates of 22.5% versus 63.6% in patients with regional, node-positive disease.2 However, patients with stage II/III disease still account for a significant proportion of melanoma-related deaths in the United States.
The once-favored interferon (IFN)-alfa regimens for adjuvant therapy suffered from conflicting efficacy data, controversy over dosage schedules,3 and a high toxicity burden. This led IFN-alfa to be surpassed by newer immunotherapy and targeted agents that have moved to the forefront.