Table 3.
Patient description of the 45 included advanced stage melanoma patients for the blood analyses.
| Patient Characteristics | n | % |
|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | ||
| Median (range) | 60.9 (20–82) | |
| Gender | ||
| Male | 32 | 71.1 |
| Female | 13 | 2.9 |
| AJCC (eighth edition) | ||
| III | 4 | 8.9 |
| IV | 41 | 91.1 |
| Lines of treatment | ||
| First line | 29 | 64.4 |
| Second line | 14 | 31.1 |
| IFN therapy | 3 | 21.4 |
| Chemotherapy | 2 | 14.3 |
| BRAFi or BRAF/MEKi | 7 | 50 |
| Pembrolizumab | 2 | 14.3 |
| Third line | 2 | 44.4 |
| Administered immune checkpoint inhibitors | ||
| Ipilimumab + Nivolumab | 28 | 62.2 |
| Nivolumab | 6 | 13.3 |
| Pembrolizumab | 11 | 24.5 |
| BRAF V600 mutation | ||
| Yes | 19 | 42.2 |
| No | 23 | 51.1 |
| Unknown | 3 | 6.7 |
| Immune-related adverse events | ||
| Grade I or II | 16 | 35.6 |
| Grade III or IV | 10 | 22.2 |
| Clinical response (according to RECIST 1.1) | ||
| CR | 13 | 28.9 |
| PR | 16 | 35.6 |
| SD | 5 | 11.1 |
| PD | 11 | 24.4 |
Abbreviations: n: number of patients; AJCC, American Joint Committee on Cancer (8th edition); IFN: Interferon; BRAF: B Rapidly accelerated fibrosarcoma; MEK: mitogen-activated protein kinase; RECIST: Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors; CR: complete response; PR: partial response; SD: stable disease; PD: progressive disease.