Long-term survival of stage IV melanoma patients: evaluation on 640 melanoma patients entering stage IV between 2014 and 2017

Abstract

Purpose Since the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and targeted therapies (TT), survival rates of metastatic melanoma patients have increased significantly and complete remissions are no longer rarities. Consequently, there is an increasing number of long-term survivors who have not yet been comprehensively characterized. Methods We included melanoma patients who entered stage IV between 2014 and 2017 and survived at least 5 years after entering stage IV. Descriptive statistics were performed to characterize the applied systemic therapies, response rates and to report which of these patients are still alive today. Results 640 patients entered stage IV at the University Hospital Tuebingen. Of these, 207 patients (32%) were still alive at least 5 years after entering stage IV. Details of applied therapies and response rates were available in 176 patients (85%). About 90% of patients (n = 159) were still alive at the time of analysis. Median survival since first stage IV diagnosis was 6.0 years (range 5–9 years). An impressive majority of patients (n = 146, 83%) were no longer receiving systemic therapy at the time of evaluation. Complete remission under first line systemic therapy was seen in 36% of the patients. Conclusion This dataset comprises the largest available cohort of long-term surviving stage IV melanoma patients. Since 90% of patients in our cohort are still alive today, we expect an increasing number of long-term survivors in the future. Our data indicate the need for specific follow-up programs addressing the needs of long-term survivors.