This retrospective cohort study assessed the prognostic significance of distant metastasis-free interval (DMFI) in patients with relapsed BRAF-mutant melanoma treated with BRAF with or without MEK inhibitors (BRAFi ± MEKi). Patients with a DMFI of up to 24 months were compared with those with DMFI of more than 24 months, with regard to their postrelapse progression-free survival (PR-PFS) and overall survival (PR-OS). In total, 109 patients were included in the study. Median DMFI was 25.3 (range: 3.4–188.2) months. Median PR-PFS in patients with DMFI of more than 24 months was 7.9 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 6.2–9.7] compared with 5.4 (95% CI: 4.2–6.7) months of those with shorter DMFI (P = 0.016). Median PR-OS was 15.6 months (95% CI: 13.6–17.6) in patients with DMFI of more than 24 months and 12.0 months (95% CI: 9.0–15.0) with DMFI of up to 24 months (P = 0.289). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that DMFI was independently and strongly associated with improved PR-PFS (adjusted hazard ratio = 3.21, 95% CI: 1.78–5.77, ≤ 24 vs. > 24 months) and longer PR-OS (adjusted hazard ratio: 2.09, 95% CI: 1.15–3.80, ≤ 24 vs. > 24 months). The present cohort study is one of the first to confirm the association of DMFI of more than 24 months with an indolent disease course, as shown by longer PR-PFS and PR-OS, in patients with relapsed stage IV melanoma treated by BRAF inhibitor/MEK inhibitor.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.