Local recurrences of malignant melanoma and in-transit metastasis are most effectively treated by surgical excision. Radiotherapy to bone or skin metastases

can provide short term symptomatic control and offer palliative value, but patients in Europe with unresectable metastatic disease have very few systemic treatment options. Dacarbazine, an alkylating agent, is approved in Europe for the treatment of metastatic melanoma [6, 8]. A number of other agents, including temozolomide and fotemustine, have been investigated for treatment of metastatic melanoma and because of their ability to cross the blood–brain barrier, may be used preferentially in melanoma patients with brain metastasis. However, no agent has been shown to improve survival rates. Immunotherapy with interleukin-2, approved by the FDA in the United States, did not receive approval for the treatment of metastatic BAY 11-7082 research buy Epigenetics inhibitor melanoma in Europe. Little progress has been made in the medical treatment of metastatic melanoma in the last 3 decades [9]. The limited number of approved treatments for advanced melanoma patients suggests there is a high, unmet medical need for new therapies [10, 11]. Methods In the development of new treatments, it is important to have an understanding of existing treatment options. In diseases such as advanced

melanoma where few approved and effective treatment options exist, clinicians may adopt different approaches to manage patients’ disease. Documenting and characterizing current treatments and their associated cost is important to define the dominant treatment practice and to quantify the impact of existing therapeutic strategies in terms of both clinical benefit for the patient, as well as cost to the healthcare system. Consequently the primary objective of this study is to document treatment patterns and evaluate relevant costs. In particular, to document first-line,

second-line and beyond treatments types Selleck RG7420 as well as the frequency with which they are used in patients diagnosed with unresectable stage III or stage IV melanoma. The present article is based on the information collected in the MELODY study (MELanoma treatment patterns and Outcomes among patients with unresectable stage III or stage IV Disease: a retrospective longitudinal surveY). In that study, the medical charts of patients were reviewed to document current treatment patterns and to analyse information on patients, disease characteristics and healthcare resource utilization related to the treatment of advanced melanoma. Moreover, the perspective of the Italian National Health System is adopted, so only direct costs are considered. The MELODY study The MELODY study was conducted as a multinational, observational retrospective longitudinal survey of patients diagnosed with unresectable stage III or stage IV melanoma.