Author Interviews, Cost of Health Care, Genetic Research, Immunotherapy, Melanoma, Surgical Research / 03.09.2020
Adjuvant Therapy in Stage IIIA Melanoma: Cost vs Benefit of Gene Profiling
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Edmund K Bartlett, M.D.
Department of Surgery/Division of Surgical Oncology
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Indications for adjuvant therapy for resected, high-risk melanoma is a controversial and rapidly-evolving topic in melanoma treatment. Immunotherapy treatments targeting PD-1 have significantly improved survival in advanced-stage disease, but the magnitude of survival benefit in stage III disease--particularly stage IIIA--remains unclear. Recently, 31-GEP (a gene expression profiling assay) has been studied as a risk-stratifying tool to identify patients who are at higher risk for systemic recurrence. Ideally such a tool could identify patients most likely to benefit from immunotherapy treatment in the adjuvant setting (when all visible disease has been removed).
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