Treatment of Choice for Metastatic Melanoma Questioned

The treatment of choice to date for patients with stage IV metastatic melanoma has been the administration of high-doses of interleukin-2 (IL-2).

An article published in the current issue of Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (http://www.liebertpub.com), explores whether or not this regimen is still the most effective. The article is available free online at the Cancer Biotherapy and Radiopharmaceuticals website (http://www.liebertpub.com/cbr).

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In the article "Should High-Dose Interleukin-2 Still Be the Preferred Treatment for Patients with Metastatic Melanoma?" (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/cbr.2012.1220) Robert Dillman and colleagues at the Hoag Institute for Research and Education and Hoag Family Cancer Institute, Newport Beach, CA concluded that until long-term survival data for some of the newer drugs are available, patients with stage IV metastatic melanoma who are well enough to be given intensive IL-2 therapy should receive it initially, either alone or in combination with one of the newer therapeutic agents.

"This is an important article that puts into perspective the reasons why IL-2 should continue to be the initial therapy in patients with metastatic melanoma," says Editor Donald J. Buchsbaum, PhD, Division of Radiation Biology, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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