Nearly half of the patients with advanced uveal melanoma develop liver metastases and have survival rates from 10 to 12 months. Current treatments with immunotherapy or chemotherapy only achieve limited or undetectable survival benefits, respectively. To overcome this barrier, Swedish researchers have investigated the efficacy of isolated hepatic perfusion (IHP) with melphalan to treat uveal melanoma with liver metastasis.
IHP involves isolation of the liver from the systemic circulation and hepatic perfusion with high doses of a chemotherapeutic agent, ensuring minimal systemic exposure. In the phase 3 trial, 87 patients were randomized to receive either one-time IHP with melphalan or the investigator's choice of treatment (control). IHP treatment achieved a better overall response rate (ORR) (40% vs 4.5%), progression-free survival (PFS, [7.4 vs 3.3 months]), and hepatic PFS (9.1 vs…
