Melanoma Vaccine

Vaccine For Advanced Melanoma Yields Promising Results During Phase 3 Trial.

HealthDay (6/1, Goodwin) reported that for patients with advanced melanoma, a "vaccine combined with an immune-boosting drug is showing promise," according to the results of a Phase 3 clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. In the trial, which was "conducted at 21 care centers," researchers randomized "185 patients with metastatic melanoma" to receive either the vaccine "followed by interleukin-2" or interleukin-2 alone. They found that roughly "16 percent of those given the vaccine/interleukin-2 combination saw their tumors shrink by 50 percent or more, compared to six percent given interleukin-2 alone."

        MedPage Today (6/1, Smith) reported that progression-free survival was "longer in the vaccine group -- 2.2 months versus 1.6 months -- and the difference was significant at P=0.008. ... Grades 3 to 5 toxic effects were 'consistent with the expected side effects' in patients getting high-dose interleukin-2," the researchers noted, with one exception: The vaccine patients experienced "increased rates of arrhythmias." WebMD (6/1, Goodman) also covered the trial results.

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