Adjuvant therapy for melanoma

In cases of high risk of melanoma recurrence, even after surgery, our specialists can suggest new methods that help to delay or prevent the recurrence of melanoma. It is called adjuvant therapy.

Adjuvant therapy for melanoma is an additional treatment that is recommended after the initial treatment of melanoma, usually surgical. The goal of adjuvant therapy is to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence.

Our doctors recommends adjuvant therapy for patients with high-risk melanoma. High-risk melanoma is usually determined as melanoma that is located deeper, or it is more than 4 mm thick in the primary region or has affected nearby lymph nodes. Such patients have a high risk of recurrence, because some melanoma cells can remain in the body, even if the visible melanoma tumors have been successfully removed by surgery.

Prof. Schachter – Head of Melanoma Institute – Doctor Second Opinion Online   

FDA approved adjuvant therapy for the treatment of melanoma:

♦ Ipilimumab (Yervoi)

♦ Pembrolizumab (Keytruda)

♦ Mekinist

♦ Tafinlar

Other treatments for melanoma

⇒ Microsurgical operation (Mohs Surgery)

⇒ Immunotherapy

⇒ Targeted therapy

⇒ Radiation therapy

⇒ Auto-immunotherapy TIL. One of the newest methods to fight melanoma is TIL therapy. This method has recently been adapted to treat metastatic melanoma and aims to enhance the activity of the patient’s immune system against malignant cells. During this treatment, the patient’s lymphocytes are added to the natural immune system to kill the cancer (melanoma). Cancerous tumor tissue removed during surgery, multiplies and activates in the laboratory, and then is administered to the patient together with biologic therapy Interleukin-2 and / or chemotherapy.

Fecal microbiome transplantation FMT. Treatment method that involves the transplantation of intestinal microflora from a donor who has successfully responded to standard therapy into a patient suffering from advanced metastatic melanoma who have not responded to standard therapy. Recently FMT method has shown good results in most of melanoma patients.