Prognostic Significance of Autoimmunity during Treatment of Melanoma with Interferon

In a prospective trial of interferon alfa-2b for malignant melanoma, autoantibodies and clinical manifestations of autoimmunity during treatment were associated with a favorable outcome. By contrast, patients without these features of autoimmunity had unfavorable outcomes. In a prospective trial of interferon alfa-2b for malignant melanoma, autoantibodies and clinical manifestations of autoimmunity during treatment were associated with a favorable outcome. Adjuvant therapy with interferon alfa-2b (after surgery for deep primary or regionally metastatic melanoma) has clinically significant benefits for patients with melanoma who are at high risk for relapse or death. Patients with American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage IIB, IIC, or III melanoma have risks of relapse and death exceeding 40 percent at five years and are candidates for interferon alfa-2b therapy. 1 Several large cooperative-group trials have evaluated adjuvant therapy with high-dose interferon alfa-2b in patients at high risk and have consistently demonstrated statistically significant prolongation of relapse-free survival with adjuvant therapy as compared with observation. 2 – 4 Two . . .