Vaccines for melanoma

Melanoma vaccines are now an accepted but still experimental treatment for patients who have been rendered clinically free of disease by surgical resection but are at high risk of recurrence and in selected patients with advanced but still limited disease. In general, there seems to be a correlation between the ability of melanoma vaccines to stimulate antimelanoma cellular or antibody immune responses and improved clinical outcome. Accordingly, a number of strategies are now being pursued to improve the clinical effectiveness of this first generation of vaccines by improving their ability to stimulate antimelanoma immunity. To establish the true effectiveness of vaccines in the treatment of malignant melanoma, several large, prospectively randomized phase III studies are currently being conducted.