Background: Over the past decade, PD-1-based immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and targeted therapies (TT) with BRAF and MEK inhibitors transformed melanoma treatment. Both are widely used in the adjuvant setting. However, for patients with a BRAF V600 mutation, the optimal adjuvant therapy remains unclear due to the lack of head-to-head comparison studies.
Methods: We conducted a systematic review of real-world data on adjuvant therapy in stage III melanoma to determine the best option for patients with BRAF V600 mutations. Kaplan-Meier curves were generated for TT and ICI using Digitizelt software.
Results: Nine publications with 3625 patients were included. TT showed better relapse-free survival (RFS) at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months than ICI. A similar trend was observed for distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), with no apparent difference in overall survival.
Conclusion: Real-world data suggest that adjuvant TT may be associated with better RFS and DMFS in stage III BRAF V600-mutated melanoma compared to ICI.
Keywords: Adjuvant therapy; Checkpoint inhibitors; Distant metastasis-free survival; Overall survival; Relapse-free survival; Stage III; Targeted therapy.
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