History

Georges-Mathe

In 1969, Professor Georges Mathé, the former President of the EORTC, with a small group of colleagues from all over Europe, decided to create a cooperative group on cutaneous melanoma. Mathé proposed that the newly created group should conduct the first trial of BCG as a non-specific adjuvant immunotherapy of melanoma. At that time, the first evidence of immune reactions against tumours had just been established and in London, Peter Alexander, Gordon Hamilton-Fairley, Martin Lewis and Graham Currie, were responsible for the design of the first active specific immunotherapy of human melanoma. Notably, melanoma was the first solid tumour to be treated by immunotherapy. Unfortunately, unlike experimental models, the clinical results proved unsuccessful.

The EORTC Melanoma Cooperative Group members were not discouraged and have continued to pursue many aspects of tumour immunology. Over the past years, the successive Chairmen of the EORTC MG, have enthusiastically fostered the collaboration of immunologists, pathologists and clinicians. On the clinical side, cooperative studies were launched with the WHO Melanoma Programme, the Scandinavian Melanoma Group and the North American Perfusion Group.

With the rapid developments in molecular biology and the discovery of the potential anti-cancer role of cytokines, the EORTC MG has initiated clinical studies on interferon-a and interferon-g. Under the leadership of Alexander Eggermont, several large adjuvant trials on interferon have been done within the EORTC MG framework, characterized by a very fast complete accrual. One study (EORTC 18952) showed that Interferon alfa as used in the regimens studied does not improve outcome for patients with stage IIb/III melanomas, and cannot be recommended as a standard. With respect to efficacy of the drug, duration of treatment seemed more important than dose, and was assessed in other trials. The search for new treatments of disseminated melanoma has been conducted through several phases II and III studies. One study comparing escalated dose Temozolomide versus Dacarbazine is still open.

Melanoma Research 1995, 5, p. 3

Editorial

The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Malignant Melanoma Cooperative Group 25th Anniversary

In 1969, Professor Georges Mathé, the former President of the EORTC, with a small group of colleagues from all over Europe, decided to create a coopeartive group on malignant melanoma. Mathé proposed that the newlycreated group should conduct the first trial of BCG as a non-specific adjuvant immunotherapy of melanoma. At that time, the first evidence of immune reactions against tumours had just been established and in London, Peter Alexander, Gordon Hamilton-Fairley, Martin Lewis and Graham Currie, were responsible for the design of the first active specific immunotherapy of human melanoma. Notably, melanoma was the first solid tumour to be treated by immunotherapy. Unfortunately, unlike experimental models, the clinical results proved unsuccessful.

The EORTC Melanoma Cooperative Group members were not discouraged and have continued to pursue many aspects of tumour immunology. Over the past 25 years, the successive Chairmen of the EORTC Malignant Melanoma Cooperative Group, have enthusiastically fostered the collaboration of immunologists, pathologists and clinicians. In addition, fruitful contacts were made with the European Society for Pigment Cell Research (ESPCR) with the aim of increasing the collaboration between basic and clinical research in melanoma. On the clinical side, cooperative studies were launched with the WHO Melanoma Programme, the Scandinavian Melanoma Group and the North American Perfusion Group. A large programme generating anti-melanoma monoclonal antibodies was launched with the aim of standardizing immuno-histological techniques and agree the classification of monoclonal antibodies according to the determinants that they identify. With the rapid developments in molecular biology and the discovery of the potential anti-cancer role of cytokines, the EORTC Malignant Melanoma Cooperative Group has more recently initiated clinical studies on interferon-a and interferon-g. The potential of combining cytokines and chemotherapy is the subject of current investigations by group members. The discovery of sets of melanoma-associated genes has brought about a revival of tumour immunology in this field and has stimulated the formation of a newly-constituted clinical immunology sub-group. In the meantime, the search for new treatments of disseminated melanoma has been conducted through many phase II studies. Isolated perfusion of the limbs has been evaluated for the first time in a randomized trial as an adjuvant treatment for stage I high-risk melanoma. This study has involved cooperation between the EORTC Melanoma Group, the WHO Melanoma Programmme and the North American Perfusion Group. The Malignant Melanoma Cooperative Group has been, and remains, a unique group within the EORTC, as manifested by its pluridisciplinary approach to the harnessing of all disciplines in the fight against melanoma. A report on the first 25 years of its activities is published in this issue of Melanoma Research.