This progress through immunotherapy builds upon earlier successes that interferon-α had in the treatment of melanoma in the adjuvant setting, as well as that of high-dose interleukin-2 in advanced melanoma.
Whereas 5 years ago, treatment for advanced melanoma was restricted to the alkylating agent dacarbazine and the immunostimulants interleukin-2 and interferon-α-2b, today the therapeutic menu includes precise therapies that target key determinants in oncogenic pathways and immune checkpoints.
Advanced melanoma traditionally has had poor prognosis with limited, modestly effective and relatively toxic systemic treatment options like cytotoxic chemotherapy (dacarbazine) and immunomodulating agents (high-dose interleukin-2 and ipilimumab) which have response rates of 6-20%.
The combination of cisplatin-based chemotherapy with interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon, referred to as biochemotherapy, has shown encouraging results in patients with advanced melanoma.
A clinical trial of adoptive immunotherapy was carried out with peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), cocultured in vitro with autologous tumor cells and interleukin-2 (IL-2), in 14 patients with advanced melanoma.