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‘Female advantage’ persists in stage III/IV metastatic melanoma
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Female sex was an independent prognostic factor for disease-specific survival, RFS and PFS in patients with stage III and IV metastatic melanoma, according to study results.
“Recently, we published a similar analysis of EORTC trials for stage I and II melanoma that showed a highly consistent and independent advantage for females across different endpoints concerning disease progression and survival,” the researchers wrote. “This study confirms that this female advantage persists in patients with advanced stage III and IV melanoma.”
Although prior data have shown female sex to be associated with increased survival for several cancer types, particularly melanoma, the predictive role of gender has not been extensively examined in metastatic melanoma, according to the researchers.
The current study included pooled data from three large, randomized, controlled trials of the EORTC. Patients had stage III (n=2,734) and stage IV (n=1,306) metastatic melanoma.
Among patients with stage III melanoma, researchers reported a higher 5-year disease-specific survival among women (51.5% vs. 43.3%). The adjusted HR for disease-specific survival was 0.85 (95% CI, 0.76-0.95) and the adjusted HR for RFS was 0.86 (95% CI, 0.77-0.95).
Women with stage IV disease also demonstrated superior 2-year disease-specific survival (19% vs. 14.1%; adjusted HR=0.81; 95% CI, 0.72-0.92) and PFS (adjusted HR=0.79; 95% CI, 0.70-0.88).
However, the “female advantage” decreased in women with higher metastatic tumor load.
“Both clinical and laboratory melanoma investigators should take sex into consideration in their research, for example by stratifying by sex, to help identify the underlying explanation for this phenomenon,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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