Adjuvant immunotherapy in the modern management of resectable melanoma: current status and outlook to 2028
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Therapeutic advances have reshaped the treatment landscape for patients with resectable melanoma, particularly for those with stage IIB/C and stage III disease. In this article, we discuss the current status and future outlook of adjuvant immunotherapy for melanoma in Europe. RESULTS: Adjuvant immunotherapy offers significant benefits in terms of recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival. Uncertainties regarding overall survival (OS) benefits, however, remain. Trials such as Keynote-054, which are expected to provide crucial OS information, have delayed their final analyses until 2027. Additionally, real-world studies have raised questions about the correlation between recurrence-free survival/distant metastasis-free survival improvements observed in clinical trials and OS outcomes in routine clinical practice. These uncertainties have led to ongoing debates about the cost-effectiveness of adjuvant therapies, with disparities in reimbursement policies across Europe reflecting these concerns. CONCLUSION: Looking ahead to 2028, adjuvant immunotherapy will remain a key option of comprehensive melanoma care, particularly for patients with stage IIB/C and stage III with micrometastatic disease, where neoadjuvant immunotherapy is not feasible.
Source: ESMO Open
Institutions: Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen University Hospital, Oslo University Hospital, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Manchester, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Karolinska University Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Medical University of Vienna, University of Helsinki, Helsinki University Hospital, Military Medical Academy, National Institute of Oncology, Belarusian State Medical University, Riga Stradiņš University, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Amphia Ziekenhuis, Inserm, Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou, Paris Cardiovascular Research Center, The Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, University of Tübingen
Language: English
Subfield: Oncology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,910
Funders: Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, Gilead Sciences, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Wellcome Trust, Les Laboratories Pierre Fabre, Universität Wien, Novo Nordisk, Medizinische Universität Wien, Novo Nordisk Fonden, Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond, Sun Pharma, Unicancer, NeraCare
Awards: G2925117638, G4322817193, Defining mechanisms and immunotherapeutic targets of tumour-microenvironment interaction driving immune tolerance in liver metastases, Defining mechanisms and immunotherapeutic targets of tumour-microenvironment interaction driving immune tolerance in liver metastases
OpenAlex ID: W4407595942