Adjuvant interferon: extended follow-up times needed?

摘要

In the February, 2011, issue of The Lancet Oncology, Johan Hansson and colleagues1 presented results from the Nordic IFN trial. Their findings support results from earlier studies, showing a clear effect of adjuvant high-dose interferon alfa-2b on relapse-free survival in patients with high-risk melanoma, but no or a small effect on overall survival. In past investigations, this discrepancy might be partly explained by insufficient follow-up time because many studies have been prematurely finalised before most of the expected deaths had occurred.23 Therefore, an important merit of the Nordic IFN trial is its long length of follow-up; however, this time might still not be long enough.