title: Interferon alpha as adjuvant postsurgical treatment of melanoma: a meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The literature on the benefit of alpha-interferon (IFN-alpha) as adjuvant postsurgical treatment of melanoma reports discordant results.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  With the published data so far, we performed a meta-analysis in order to evaluate the effect of IFN-alpha on the relapse rate (RR) and the overall survival (OS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Published randomised trials were identified by Medline search. Stage IV melanoma was not considered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nine published studies were included, with a total of 2,880 patients. Both the per protocol and the intention-to-treat analysis show that IFN-alpha significantly decreased the RR (OR = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.64-0.86). Subgroup analyses show that, for all stages, high and low doses decreased the RR (OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.54-0.92, and OR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.63-0.91, respectively). No difference has been evidenced on OS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High and low doses of IFN-alpha significantly decrease the RR, but the OS does not seem to be improved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Erasme Hospital, Brussels, Belgium. delphinepirard@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pirard
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Heenen
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Melot
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vereecken
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha