Patients with advanced melanoma have a compromised anti-tumor immune response leading to tumor immune tolerance and a tumor microenvironment conducive to disease progression. Immunotherapy that successfully overcomes this tumor-mediated immune suppression has made the greatest impact in the management of this disease over the past few years. This progress through immunotherapy builds upon earlier successes that interferon-α had in the treatment of melanoma in the adjuvant setting, as well as that of high-dose interleukin-2 in advanced melanoma. The development of immune checkpoint inhibitors has led to dramatic clinical activity in advanced melanoma. In particular, anti-CTLA4 and anti-PD1 monoclonal antibodies have taken us forward into the realm of longer survival and durable responses with the possibility of cure in a continuously increasing proportion of patients. Combination immunotherapeutic strategies and novel immunotherapeutic agents are being tested at an accelerated pace where the outlook for long-term survival benefits for the majority of patients appears brighter than ever.
CITATION STYLE
Achkar, T., & Tarhini, A. A. (2017, April 24). The use of immunotherapy in the treatment of melanoma Ahmed Tarhini; Timothy Burns; Rahul Parikh; Guarvel Goel; Annie im. Journal of Hematology and Oncology. BioMed Central Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13045-017-0458-3
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