Real-World Treatment of Early-Stage Melanoma Aligns With Guidelines

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 23, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with early-stage melanoma, real-world management is predominantly surgical, in alignment with National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, and patients with higher disease stages receive more lines of treatment (LOT), according to a study published online Sept. 19 in Drugs – Real World Outcomes.Collin M. Costello, M.D., from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, and colleagues characterized real-world treatment patterns among patients with early-stage cutaneous melanoma (histologically confirmed stage IB to IIC melanoma) in a retrospective chart review conducted at four U.S. sites.Of 398 enrolled patients, 56.3, 21.1, 16.3, and 6.3 percent had stage IB, IIA, IIB, and IIC disease, respectively. The researchers found that 92.0 percent of patients received sentinel lymph node biopsy; 98.5, 33.9, 12.3, and 2.5 percent received surgery, watchful waiting, systemic drug therapy, and radiotherapy, respectively. Patients with higher stages or recurrence had significantly greater radiotherapy and systemic drug therapy use. Anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 were the most frequent systemic drug therapies (81.6 and 30.6 percent, respectively). Overall, 99.0 percent of patients received at least one LOT; surgery alone or in combination was received by 99.5 percent as the first LOT. Most second LOTs included systemic drug therapy (57.8 percent). Overall, 16.1 percent of patients received two or more LOTs (8.9, 22.7, 23.1, and 40.0 percent for stages IB, IIA, IIB, and IIC, respectively) and 6.3 percent received three or more LOTs (3.1, 7.2, 10.8, and 20.0 percent for stages IB, IIA, IIB, and IIC, respectively)."These real-world findings confirm guideline-concordant practice," the authors write. "However, a subset of patients, particularly at more advanced stages, require multiple treatment regimens."Several authors disclosed ties to biopharmaceutical companies, including Merck, which funded the study.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Real-World Treatment of Early-Stage Melanoma Aligns With Guidelines

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