 |
|
Melanomas Reveal Their NakednessUncovered by Interferon Alfa
Jack L. Arbiser, MD, PhD;
Michael Y. Bonner, BA
Arch Dermatol. 2009;145(5):587-588.
|
|
| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
|
|
|
Hu et al1 describe 3 patients in whom cutaneous melanomas were detected after interferon alfa therapy was initiated. The melanomas developed in patients who had already been diagnosed as having metastatic melanoma to lymph nodes. Three things are striking in Hu and colleagues' article. First, the patients did remarkably well, despite the presence of metastatic disease, considering that patients with this degree of tumor burden usually have a bleak prognosis. Second, thin melanomas were found in the patients after the initiation of interferon therapy through the detection of newly inflamed pigmented lesions. Third, metastatic disease does not always mean resistance to therapy.
What can be learned from these clinical findings? In large series of clinical trials, high-dose interferon therapy has been shown to confer a marginal benefit in disease-free survival and overall survival, leading patients to refuse interferon therapy based on . . . [Full Text of this Article]
AUTHOR INFORMATION
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter
What's this?
RELATED ARTICLE
Primary Cutaneous Melanomas Seen as Inflamed Pigmented Lesions in Patients Undergoing Adjuvant Interferon Treatment: A Possible Diagnostic Clue for Physicians
Stephanie Hu, Caroline C. Kim, Chad Jessup, Thuy L. Phung, and Clara Curiel-Lewandrowski
Arch Dermatol. 2009;145(5):565-568.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
|
