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Adjuvant Therapy of Melanoma

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Melanoma

Part of the book series: Cancer Treatment and Research ((CTAR,volume 167))

Abstract

The incidence of melanoma is rapidly increasing, especially in younger female and older male patients. Recent fundamental advances in our knowledge of melanoma tumorigenesis have established roles for inhibitors of the MAPK 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.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Award Number P50 CA121973 from the National Cancer Institute. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Cancer Institute or the National Institutes of Health.

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  1. Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 5150 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, USA

    Diwakar Davar & John M. Kirkwood

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  1. Diwakar Davar
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Correspondence to John M. Kirkwood .

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  1. Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New York, USA

    Howard L. Kaufman

  2. Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

    Janice M. Mehnert

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Davar, D., Kirkwood, J.M. (2016). Adjuvant Therapy of Melanoma. In: Kaufman, H., Mehnert, J. (eds) Melanoma. Cancer Treatment and Research, vol 167. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22539-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22539-5_7

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