Adjuvant therapy of melanoma

Abstract

The incidence of melanoma is rapidly increasing, especially in younger female and older male patients. Recent fundamental advanMAPK pathway and regulatory immune checkpoints CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1. However, the majority of patients continue to present with non-metastatic disease—typically managed with surgical resection and adjuvant therapy. High-dose IFN-α2b (HDI) is the main adjuvant therapeutic mainstay in high-risk disease following definitive resection. In this chapter, we review the evidence supporting the use of adjuvant HDI in high-risk melanoma. We also discuss some of the other treatment modalities that have been evaluated including vaccines, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy.