Abstract
Abstract only
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Background: High dose Interferon (IFN) was the standard adjuvant treatment used for stage III melanoma between 2004-2010. To our knowledge, this is the largest study using the NCDB to determine the impact of immunotherapy used prior to 2011 in stage III melanoma. Methods: We identified 19,864 patients with stage III melanoma between 2004-2010. Among these, 5,406 of them received immunotherapy. Chi-square analysis was used to determine demographic differences between those with versus without immunotherapy. Between-therapy survival differences were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and associated log-rank tests; Tukey-Kramer adjusted p < 0.05 indicated statistical significance. Results: Patients who received immunotherapy had a mean survival of 89.8 months while those who did not had a mean survival of 71 months. The percentage of patients alive at 5 and 10 years was 62% and 52% (among those who received immunotherapy) compared to 46% and 32% (among those who did not receive immunotherapy) respectively. A much higher percentage of these patients were privately insured (73% vs. 47.1%, p<0.001). Those who received immunotherapy were more likely to be younger, have a higher income (36.2% vs. 34.8%, p<0.001), and a greater percentage of females received immunotherapy compared to males. (See Table 1.) Conclusions: Previously, Kirkwood et al. demonstrated a modest improvement in overall survival with IFN by 12 months (2.8 to 3.8 years). In our study, patients who received immunotherapy had a significant improvement in mean survival by 19 months. It was observed that patients who received immunotherapy were substantially younger, had private insurance and fewer comorbidities. [Table: see text]