LAUSR

PurposeThis study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of isolated limb infusion (ILI) treatment in Chinese patients with in-transit melanoma and to identify factors predictive of the outcome.MethodsA total of 150 patients with in-transit melanoma who received a single ILI between 2007 and 2016 were identified from a prospectively collected database.ResultsAll patients had AJCC Stages IIIb, IIIc, and IV disease. Acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) accounted for 79% of patients, and 59% had a high burden of disease (BOD). The complete response (CR) and partial response (PR) rates were 6 and 35%, respectively. Forty-five percent of patients experienced grade III–IV limb toxicities, but no grade V toxicity was observed. Patients with a low BOD, high limb temperature, high peak creatine phosphokinase (CK) level, and grade III–IV limb toxicity achieved higher response rates. Stage IV disease and high BOD were associated with worse infield progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), whereas patients with CR or PR to ILI had better infield PFS and OS. Multivariate analyses showed that disease stage, BOD, and a CR were independent predictors of infield PFS, whereas disease stage and a response to ILI were independent predictors of OS.ConclusionsILI is well-tolerated but the response rate in Chinese patients was lower than that reported in US and Australian studies. The prevalence of the ALM histological type, advanced disease stages, and a high BOD may be the main reasons for this. A response to ILI, BOD, and disease stage are prognostic factors for survival.