Five-year survival with neoadjuvant therapy in melanoma: updated pooled analysis from the International Neoadjuvant Melanoma Consortium (INMC).

Five-year survival rates with neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors reach up to 87.5% in melanoma patients, especially among those achieving major pathological response.

• Why it matters: Understanding long-term outcomes of neoadjuvant therapies in melanoma is crucial to optimize treatment strategies, as knowledge gaps remain about the best approaches, subgroups, and post-surgical management.
• What they did: The study pooled data from 1,038 patients across 26 international sites, analyzing outcomes like MPR, RFS, and OS for different neoadjuvant regimens, including ICIs, BRAF/MEK inhibitors, and combinations.
• The result: Neoadjuvant ICIs showed high survival rates, particularly in patients with MPR, with 5-year OS exceeding 97%, but BRAF/MEK inhibitors and some combinations had poorer outcomes, highlighting the need for subgroup-specific research.