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Updated: May 9, 2026

Experimental Melanoma Immunotherapy Model Using Tumor Vaccination with a Hematopoietic Cytokine
Published on: February 24, 2023
Phase II randomized trial comparing high-dose IFN-α2b with temozolomide plus cisplatin as systemic adjuvant therapy
Bin Lian1, Lu Si, Chuanliang Cui
1Department of Renal Cancer and Melanoma, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research, Ministry of Education, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China.
Purpose:
Mucosal melanoma is rare and associated with extremely poor prognosis. However, standard adjuvant therapy for mucosal melanoma has not been established. We conducted a randomized phase II clinical trial in patients with resected mucosal melanoma to compare the efficacy and safety of high-dose IFN-α2b (HDI) and temozolomide-based chemotherapy as adjuvant therapy.
Experimental Design:
Patients with mucosal melanoma in stage II/III after surgery were randomized into three groups: observation group (group A, surgery alone), HDI group (group B, treated with 15 × 10(6) U/m(2)/d IFN-α2b, followed by 9 × 10(6) U IFN-α2b), and temozolomide (200 mg/m(2)/d) plus cisplatin (75 mg/m(2)) group (group C). The endpoints were relapse-free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS), and toxicities.
Results:
One hundred and eighty-nine patients were enrolled and finally analyzed. With a median follow-up of 26.8 months, the median RFS was 5.4, 9.4, and 20.8 months for group A, B, and C, respectively. Estimated median OS for group A, B, and C was 21.2, 40.4, and 48.7 months, respectively. Patients treated with temozolomide plus cisplatin showed significant improvements in RFS (P < 0.001) and OS (P < 0.01) than those treated with either HDI or surgery alone. Toxicities were generally mild to moderate.
Conclusion:
Both temozolomide-based chemotherapy and HDI are effective and safe as adjuvant therapies for resected mucosal melanoma as compared with observation alone. However, HDI tends to be less effective than temozolomide-based chemotherapy for patients with resected mucosal melanoma in respect to RFS. The temozolomide plus cisplatin regimen might be a better choice for patients with resected mucosal melanoma.

