Kaidi Yang, Shiji Lan, Yan Wang, Jin Wu, Xin Cai, Kui Jiang, Zhen Guo, Mei Xiang, Hongfeng Zhou, Jiwei Li, Fang Liu, Jianping Gui, Yuhuan Mao, Hongxue Meng, Xiang Ji, Janan Pang, Xinxin Yang, Lu Feng, Weizhen Zhang, Di Wu
Results show that full-course HD-IFN treatment is statistically associated with improved survival in high-risk and very high-risk subgroups, whereas the timing of HD-IFN initiation within 3 months after surgery makes no significant difference to prognosis.
BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate recurrence patterns and survival outcomes in Chinese patients with AM who received postoperative adjuvant High-dose interferon (HD-IFN), and to assess how treatment duration and the interval between surgery and therapy initiation relate to recurrence and survival.
METHODS: A multi-center, retrospective cohort study involving 171 patients with AM who received postoperative adjuvant HD-IFN therapy between January 2012 and March 2025 was conducted at five melanoma diagnostic and treatment centers across China.
RESULTS: The median follow-up duration was 75.7 months. Median recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were 37.5 and 93.7 months, respectively. Stratified by recurrence risk, patients in the low-risk, high-risk, and very high-risk groups had median RFS of 64.1, 31.6, and 13.8 months (P = 0.035), and median OS of 131.9, 82.1, and 61.9 months, respectively (P = 0.027).
CONCLUSION: Results show that full-course HD-IFN treatment is statistically associated with improved survival in high-risk and very high-risk subgroups, whereas the timing of HD-IFN initiation within 3 months after surgery makes no significant difference to prognosis.