For Immediate ReleaseDeborah Pettibone (716) 845-8593
ROSWELL PARK CANCER INSTITUTE TO EVALUATE NEW MELANOMA TREATMENT IN NATIONAL STUDY
BUFFALO, NY - Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) is participating in an American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) multi-center, randomized clinical trial to evaluate the benefits and side effects of isolated hyperthermic limb perfusion (ILP) and melphalan, with or without tumor necrosis factor (TNF), for patients with advanced melanoma in one of their limbs. William Kraybill, MD, Department of Surgery, is the principal investigator of the study at RPCI.
Melanoma is a disease of the skin in which cancer cells are found in melanocytes, the cells that color the skin. It usually occurs in adults, but may occasionally be found in children and adolescents. Melanoma can be cured if diagnosed and treated when the tumor is thin and has not deeply invaded the skin. However, if a melanoma is not removed at its early stages, cancer cells may burrow downward from the skin surface, invading healthy tissue.
"When melanoma becomes advanced, it often spreads to other parts of the body and can be difficult to control," said Dr. Kraybill. "We hope this new trial will offer a way to get high-dose chemotherapy to the affected part of the body and successfully shrink the tumor while minimizing the usual side effects of cancer treatment."
The treatment offered in this trial is called isolated limb perfusion. In this procedure, chemotherapy drugs are only circulated through the blood vessels in the affected limb and the limb is heated. "At this time, the gold standard for treating advanced melanoma is ILP with melphalan only," continued Dr. Kraybill. "However, researchers in Europe suggest that the addition of tumor necrosis factor to the standard treatment may enhance the effectiveness of ILP, but only a randomized trial will answer this question for certain."
Patients who have been diagnosed with recurrent melanoma in an arm or leg may be candidates for this protocol. To be eligible for this trial, patients must be at least 18 years of age, have no brain metastases, and not have received any biological therapy, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy for at least one month. For more information on this study, contact RPCI at 1-877-ASK-RPCI (1-877-275-7724).
Roswell Park Cancer Institute, founded in 1898, is the nation's first cancer research, treatment and education center and is the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center in Western New York.
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