title: Sequential local injection of low-dose interferon-beta for maintenance therapy in stage II and III melanoma: a single-institution matched case-control study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the beneficial effect of maintenance therapy in stage II and III melanoma by sequential local injection of low-dose interferon-β.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed 46 patients with stage II and III primary melanoma at our institution from 2004 through 2009. Twenty-one patients were treated with interferon-β maintenance therapy consisting of subcutaneous injection of natural interferon-β at a dose of 3 × 10(6) IU/day for 10 consecutive days, and 25 patients underwent observation alone.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with all patients, overall survival and relapse-free survival were significantly worse in the observation group than in the interferon-β group (p = 0.024 and 0.029, respectively). In stage II, a significant difference in overall survival, but not in relapse-free survival, was seen between the two groups (p = 0.041). When the interferon-β group was stratified by subgroup, there was a statistical difference only between dosage and duration (p = 0.027 and p < 0.001, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that maintenance therapy by interferon-β is beneficial in the outcome of the disease without substantial toxic effects, especially in patients with stage II melanoma. Extension of the duration of treatment beyond 2 years could further improve the therapeutic efficacy of interferon-β.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan. saoyagi@med.hokudai.ac.jp
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aoyagi
authors.forename: Hiroo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hata
authors.forename: Erina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Homma
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shimizu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D016899:Interferon-beta / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D016899:Interferon-beta