Interferon-α therapy for melanoma

Although surgery may be curative in early malignant melanoma, its effect on survival lessens with each succeeding stage of the disease. A wide variety of immunological strategies have therefore been used to improve the prognosis of patients with malignant melanoma, but adjuvant therapy with interferon (IFN)-alpha is the only treatment to show a therapeutic benefit in randomized controlled studies. The current data indicates that where IFN-alpha is used at low dose, its main effect is on disease-free survival, whereas high-dose regimens may improve overall survival as well. This paper will review the published data on IFN-alpha therapy in patients with intermediate and high-risk melanoma and explore future avenues for managing patients with this difficult disease.