Premium
Interferon‐α therapy for melanoma
Author(s) -
Robin RussellJones
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
clinical and experimental dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1365-2230
pISSN - 0307-6938
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2230.2000.00559.x
Subject(s) - medicine , melanoma , alpha interferon , adjuvant therapy , oncology , disease , adjuvant , interferon alfa , stage (stratigraphy) , interferon , immunology , chemotherapy , cancer research , paleontology , biology
Although surgery may be curative in early malignant melanoma, its effect on survival lessens with each succeeding stage of the disease. A wide variety of immunological strategies have therefore been used to improve the prognosis of patients with malignant melanoma, but adjuvant therapy with interferon (IFN)‐α is the only treatment to show a therapeutic benefit in randomized controlled studies. The current data indicates that where IFN‐α is used at low dose, its main effect is on disease‐free survival, whereas high‐dose regimens may improve overall survival as well. This paper will review the published data on IFN‐α therapy in patients with intermediate and high‐risk melanoma and explore future avenues for managing patients with this difficult disease.