Aim: To describe treatment patterns among patients with stage III melanoma who underwent surgical excision in years 2011-2016, and assess outcomes among patients who subsequently received systemic adjuvant therapy versus watch-and-wait.
Methods: Chart review of 380 patients from 17 melanoma centers in North America, South America and Europe.
Results: Of 129 (34%) patients treated with adjuvant therapy, 85% received interferon α-2b and 56% discontinued treatment (mostly due to adverse events). Relapse-free survival was significantly longer for patients treated with adjuvant therapy versus watch-and-wait (hazard ratio = 0.63; p < 0.05). There was considerable heterogeneity in adjuvant treatment schedules and doses. Similar results were found in patients who received interferon-based adjuvant therapy.
Conclusion: Adjuvant therapies with better safety/efficacy profiles will improve clinical outcomes in patients with stage III melanoma.
Keywords: adjuvant therapy; interferon; melanoma; metastatic melanoma; nodal disease; stage III melanoma.
© 2019 The authors.