Vaccines stimulate a patient s immune system to react against melanoma and increase resistance to further tumor progression. They may be used after surgery to prevent melanoma from recurring. Often, the patient s own tumor is used to develop these types vaccines. Interferons are proteins normally produced in the body that appear to both boost the body s immune reaction to cancer cells and to act directly against the cancer. Three different types exist but only one is approved to treat melanoma.
Interleukins are hormone-like substances produced by the body.
In general, interleukins stimulate the immune system to fight cancer cells. Often interleukins are used in combination with chemotherapy and other biologic agents to treat melanoma. We often try combination therapy which is the use of chemotherapy and biologic therapy together to treat melanoma, said Dr. Richards. It works because the chemotherapy kills the melanoma directly, allowing the biologic therapy to continue the process by attacking the melanoma cells. We are still learning the best way to combine the two and treat melanoma.