Adjuvant interferon alpha 2b in high risk melanoma - the Scottish study

Br J Cancer. 2001 May 4;84(9):1146-9. doi: 10.1054/bjoc.2000.1623.

Abstract

In 1989, the Scottish melanoma group initiated a randomized trial, comparing observation alone with 6 months' therapy with low dose interferon (given subcutaneously 3 MU day-1, twice weekly), for patients with primary melanomas of at least 3 mm Breslow thickness, or with evidence of regional node involvement. The trial was closed in 1993 with only 95 eligible patients randomized. There were no toxic deaths, and no patient failed to complete the treatment for reasons of toxicity. 6 months' treatment with low-dose interferon- resulted in a statistically significant improved disease-free survival for up to 24 months after randomization (P< 0.05). However, at a median follow-up of over 6 years, although there was an apparent improvement in disease-free survival (from 9 to 22 months), and overall survival (from 27 to 39 months), consistent with larger studies powered to detect such differences, these differences were not statistically significant. The data therefore suggest that 6 months of low-dose interferon is active, and confirm the importance of the large randomized studies, such as the UKCCCR AIM-High and EORTC trials, that seek to confirm a possible survival advantage for low or intermediate dose interferon.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Multicenter Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Chemotherapy, Adjuvant
  • Disease-Free Survival
  • Drug Administration Schedule
  • Humans
  • Injections, Subcutaneous
  • Interferon alpha-2
  • Interferon-alpha / administration & dosage
  • Interferon-alpha / therapeutic use*
  • Melanoma / drug therapy*
  • Melanoma / surgery
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • Skin Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Skin Neoplasms / surgery

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Interferon alpha-2
  • Interferon-alpha
  • Recombinant Proteins