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Cancer immunotherapy has been firmly established as a standard of care for patients with advanced and metastatic melanoma. Therapeutic outcomes in clinical trials have resulted in the approval of 11 new drugs and/or combination regimens for patients with melanoma. However, prospective data to support evidence-based clinical decisions with respect to the optimal schedule and sequencing of immunotherapy and targeted agents, how best to manage emerging toxicities and when to stop treatment are not yet available. To address this knowledge gap, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Melanoma Task Force developed a process for consensus recommendations for physicians treating patients with melanoma integrating evidence-based data, where available, with best expert consensus opinion. The initial consensus statement was published in 2013, and version 2.0 of this report is an update based on a recent meeting of the Task Force and extensive subsequent discussions on new agents, contemporary peer-reviewed literature and emerging clinical data. These clinical guidleines provide physicians and healthcare providers with consensus recommendations for managing melanoma patients electing treatment with tumor immunotherapy.

Authors: Ryan J. Sullivan, Michael B. Atkins, John M. Kirkwood, Sanjiv S. Agarvala, Joseph I. Clark, Marc S. Ernstoff, Leslie Fecher, Thomas F. Gajewski, Brian Gastman, David H. Lawson, Jose Lutzky, David F. McDermott, Kim A. Margolin, Janice M. Mehnert, Anna C. Pavlick, Jon M. Richards, Krista M. Rubin, William Sharfman, Steven Silverstein, Craig L. Slingluff Jr, Vernon K. Sondak, Ahmad A. Tarhini, John A. Thompson, Walter J. Urba, Richard L. White, Eric D. Whitman, F. Stephen Hodi and Howard L. Kaufman

Published as a position article and guidelines in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer 2018 6:44.

Disclaimer: Due to the rapidly-evolving field of cancer immunotherapy, some of the content on this page may be out of date. For current information from SITC on cancer immunotherapy, please visit connected.sitcancer.org.