Clinical trial · Observational
Cognitive Effects of Interferon in Patients With Melanoma
A Pilot Study of Neurocognitive Function in Patients Treated With Adjuvant Interferon Alpha-2b for High-Risk Melanoma
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Interferon alpha is the only approved adjuvant biologic therapy for individuals diagnosed with high risk malignant melanoma (stage 2 or 3). There is evidence that interferon has some adverse cognitive effects on patients, but there are limited data. The investigators hypothesis is that compared to patients with melanoma who do not receive interferon, patients who have melanoma and are treated with interferon will show an objective decrease in performance on neurocognitive assessment. This study will enroll patients with melanoma who qualify for interferon, and either decide to undergo interferon treatment or choose watchful waiting instead. All patients will be assessed with a cognitive testing battery twice. Observation patients will undergo testing at their first appointment in which they consent to the study, as well as at their next physician visit, approximately 3 months from the first visit. Interferon patients will be tested immediately prior to starting interferon, as well as immediately after completing high dose interferon.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melanoma | Melanoma | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interferon alpha | Biological | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- label
- Observation
- description
- Patients with melanoma who qualify for interferon treatment, but choose not to receive it.
- label
- Interferon alpha
- description
- Patients who receive high dose interferon alpha for 4 weeks
- interventionNames
- Biological: Interferon alpha
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Change in cognitive function
- timeFrame
- 1 month
- description
- Cognitive function as assessed by a brief neurocognitive testing battery
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients diagnosed with high risk malignant melanoma (defined as American Joint Committee on Cancer Stage IIb or greater) electing to undergo treatment with either adjuvant interferon alpha-2b, or observation only. * Age 18 years or older. * Karnofsky performance status greater than 60. * Fluent English speaker. Exclusion Criteria: * History of neurologic or psychiatric disease that will affect patient's ability to complete protocol tests. * Clinical or radiological evidence of brain metastasis. * Any condition, which in the opinion of the investigator makes the subject unsuitable for study participation.
References
Publications (2)
- RESULTCombs D, Baker A, Jordan S, Morgan S, Pestana L, Herring A, Jeter J, Hersh E, Cranmer LD. Screening tools for interferon-related cognitive decline in melanoma patients. J Clin Oncol 28:7s, May 2010 (suppl; abstr 8539). Abstract.
- RESULTCombs D, Baker A, Herring A, Trevor K, Jeter J, Cranmer L. Effects of high dose interferon on memory in melanoma patients. Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research 22(6):866, Dec 2009. Abstract.