Photo Credit: Dmytro Varavin

A retrospective study showed that patients with stage 3a melanoma who were treated at high-volume or academic centers received significantly less immunotherapy when compared with patients treated at low-volume or community centers; however, both groups had similar overall survival. Alexander E. Frey, MD, and colleagues analyzed data from the National Cancer Database to assess adjuvant immunotherapy utilization patterns and outcomes among 4,432 patients. A total of 34% of patients received adjuvant immunotherapy, with lower odds observed at academic (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.33-0.72, P<0.001 vs. community facility) and high-volume centers (OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.56-0.84, P<0.001 vs. low-volume). The researchers noted no association between immunotherapy treatment and risk-adjusted survival (P=0.095); however, patients treated at high-volume centers experienced longer overall survival compared with patients treated at low-volume centers (HR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.29-0.93, P=0.030). The study team found no statistically significant differences between the treatment centers. Dr. Frey and colleagues emphasized the need for more judicious immunotherapy utilization in stage 3a melanoma, which may refine treatment strategies in this patient population.