Analysis of the survival of patients receiving systemic treatment for melanoma of the skin: a retrospective population study with patients treated in Poland in 2011–2015

Introduction
In Poland, it is uniquely possible to assess real effects of the introduction of new oncological therapies on the overall survival in patients as such therapies are funded by one payer only – the National Health Fund (NHF). Data collected by the NHF make it possible to analyse the survival of all patients who were diagnosed with melanoma.

Aim
The paper presents findings of a retrospective analysis of the efficacy of systemic treatment in patients with malignant melanoma of the skin in Poland with regard to the overall survival.

Material and methods
The analysis of the overall survival was performed with the Kaplan-Meier method in the population receiving systemic treatment. Three groups of patients were analysed. Group 1 included all patients who had started systemic treatment between 1 March 2011 and 1 March 2015: 1,258 patients. The median overall survival was 8.4 months. Group 2 included 444 patients who had started systemic treatment between 1 March 2011 and 28 February 2013. The median overall survival was 6.6 months in this group. Group 3 included 814 patients who had started systemic treatment between 1 March 2013 and 1 March 2015 and included 546 patients who were also treated in drug programmes with ipilimumab and vemurafenib (approx. 67%). The median overall survival was 9.4 months.

Results
A difference in the overall survival between group 3 and 2 was statistically significant (p < 0.05).

Conclusions
The introduction of vemurafenib and ipilimumab into systemic treatment in Poland using public funds had a significant effect on the prolongation of the overall survival in patients with malignant melanoma of the skin.