Adjuvant immunotherapy of melanoma and development of new approaches using the neoadjuvant approach.

ABSTRACT: Melanoma is the third most common skin cancer but the leading cause of death from cutaneous malignancies. Although early-stage disease is frequently cured by surgical resection with excellent long-term survival, patients with deeper primary lesions (AJCC stage IIB-C) and those with microscopic (IIIA) or clinically evident regional lymph node or in-transit metastases (IIIB-C) have an increased risk of relapse and death, the latter approaching 70% or more at 5 years. In patients at high risk of recurrence/metastases, adjuvant therapy with high-dose interferon alpha-2b (HDI) following definitive surgical resection has been shown to improve relapse-free and overall survival. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy have offered the prospect to improve regional recurrence risk and overall s

SUBMITTER: Davar D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3654101 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature