Yervoy for adjuvant treatment of Melanoma – pro
There is recent literature support for adjuvant treatment of melanoma with Yervoy. In June 2014, the final analysis on the impact of ipilimumab on relapse-free survival from a randomised phase III study, EORTC 18071 was presented at ASCO, indicating that adjuvant (post-surgery) therapy with ipilimumab for patients with high-risk stage III melanoma decreases the relative risk of cancer recurrence by roughly 25 percent compared to placebo. Based on this, the FDA expanded the approval of ipilimumab (Yervoy) in melanoma to include adjuvant treatment of patients with stage III melanoma with pathologic involvement of regional lymph nodes >1 mm who have undergone complete resection including total lymphadenectomy.
This is the third effective adjuvant treatment for lymph node-positive (stage III) patients who are at a very high risk of recurrence after surgery, after interferon alfa-2a and peginterferon alfa-2b. High-dose interferon alpha2b and pegylated interferon-alpha2b are approved by the FDA as a post- surgery treatment for patients with stage III melanoma who are at a high risk of relapse. There is also some evidence for Leukine in the adjuvant setting.
References:
Eggermont AM, Chiarion-Sileni V, Grob JJ et al. Adjuvant ipilimumab versus placebo after complete resection of high-risk stage III melanoma (EORTC 18071): a randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2015;16(5):522-530.