Opinion
Video
Balancing Quality of Life: Adjuvant Therapy Toxicity in Melanoma Adjuvant Immunotherapy
A panel of oncology experts explores the intricate balance between maintaining quality of life and managing toxicity in adjuvant immunotherapy for melanoma.
This is a video synopsis/summary of an OncLive Insights® involving Afreen Shariff, MD, MBBS; Javid Moslehi, MD; and Nikhil Khushalani, MD.
This segment discusses balancing quality of life and potential toxicity risks against possibility of cure with adjuvant therapy vs surgery alone for patients with lower-risk melanoma. Khushalani notes that 10% to 18% of patients have grade 3 or higher immune-related adverse events with adjuvant anti–PD-1 therapy, which is not trivial, especially in older patients with comorbidities. Such patients with minimal stage IIIA disease can often be safely observed after surgery without adjuvant treatment given good inherent outcomes.
Even within stage IIIA cohorts, central lymph node disease burden is being used to refine risk stratification, with very low-volume disease increasingly seen as having favorable enough prognosis to potentially omit adjuvant therapy. Khushalani emphasizes thoroughly discussing patient-specific factors such as age and comorbidities as part of a shared decision-making process regarding adjuvant therapy risks/benefits.
Video synopsis is AI generated and reviewed by OncLive® editorial staff.
