Dr Robert on the Role of Adjuvant Anti–PD-1 Therapy in Resected Stage IIB/C Melanoma

Caroline Robert, MD, PhD, head, Dermatology Unit, Gustave Roussy, discusses the role of adjuvant anti–PD-1 therapy in the treatment of patients with resected stage IIB/C melanoma, highlighting findings from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-716 (NCT03553836) and CheckMate 76K (NCT04099251) trials that have informed treatment decisions in this setting.

These trials evaluated the efficacy of adjuvant pembrolizumab (Keytruda) vs placebo and nivolumab (Opdivo) placebo, respectively, in this patient population, and data demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in recurrence-free survival with the immunotherapies. Despite the absence of lymph node metastases, Robert notes that stage IIB/C melanoma carries a recurrence risk comparable with certain stage III cases, warranting investigation into adjuvant immunotherapy. Although Robert notes that the absolute benefit is lower than in more advanced disease, these findings support the integration of PD-1 inhibitors into clinical practice with treatment decisions guided by individualized risk-benefit assessments.