Interferon alpha as adjuvant postsurgical treatment of melanoma: a meta-analysis.
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.
Pirard
Delphine
D
Department of Dermatology, Erasme Hospital, Brussels, Belgium. delphinepirard@hotmail.com
Heenen
Michel
M
Melot
Christian
C
Vereecken
Pierre
P
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
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha