Malignant melanoma showing a rapid response to nivolumab.

Malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive skin tumour, with a recent rise in incidence. Nivolumab is a recently developed anti-programmed cell death-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor and its usage has resulted in a significant improvement in the overall survival of patients with metastatic melanomas. We report a case of advanced melanoma that showed a significant and rapid response to nivolumab treatment. The patient displayed multiple melanoma-associated vitiligo prior to treatment; this symptom was theorised to indicate potentially immunoreactive melanoma and the need for nivolumab. In addition, interferon-β was injected prior to nivolumab treatment. The significant rapid response to nivolumab suggested the induction of a marked immune response against melanoma by interferon-β. Therefore, interferon-β could be a useful and effective adjuvant for nivolumab therapy.