Analysis of an immune focused targeted genetic association study in intermediate-risk Melanoma

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 8,000 deaths in the United States are caused by melanoma skin cancer each year. Melanoma has become the most lethal skin cancer over the past three decades. Immunotherapies were introduced to Melanoma patients in the 60’s, and Interferon Alpha (IFN α) is one of the mostly used drugs for immunotherapy. Previous studies showed that using IFN α-2b might increase the survival rate of patients with high-risk melanoma skin cancer. However, not all patients respond to immunotherapies. So ECOG 1697 (E1697) trial was performed to compare the effect of patients obtained four-week high-dose IFN-a2b and the control group. This project utilizes a subset of the E1697 patients to search for potential immune-related genes that are associated with the prognosis of patients with localized melanoma. Both SNP and gene level analysis were conducted. This study has important public health significance because it identifies genetic factors associated with prognosis of local melanoma, which may be used to guide the treatment of this subgroup of melanoma patients in the future