Systemic Therapy for Melanoma

The medical oncologists at Fox Chase Cancer Center are regional and national leaders in the treatment of skin cancer. As part of the multidisciplinary team, your medical oncologist will help to determine your personalized treatment plan, which may include systemic therapies, such as targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or chemotherapy, either as standard of care or as part of a clinical trial.

Isolated Limb Infusion

Metastatic melanoma (cancer that has spread to other parts of the body) is one of the hardest cancers to treat. Isolated Limb Infusion (ILI) is a minimally-invasive procedure for delivering high doses of chemotherapy directly to an arm or leg in people who have a type of metastatic melanoma called in-transit melanoma. By temporarily stopping blood flow to the affected limb, this technique allows the chemotherapy to concentrate where it is needed. Fox Chase in Philadelphia is one of the few cancer centers in the United States with the specialized skills needed to perform ILI. More than 60% of patients respond well to this treatment.

Isolated Limb Infusion (ILI)

Isolated Limb Infusion (ILI) is a regional technique which involves temporarily isolating the blood supply to an extremity to concentrate chemotherapy treatment there.

It’s a minimally invasive procedure for delivering high doses of chemotherapy to treat recurrent in-transit disease in a limb, including melanoma and sarcoma.

With ILI, the effects of chemotherapy can be concentrated regionally in one area, easing the strain and toxicity on the full body that can accompany standard chemotherapy. It also allows a much higher concentration of the dose than a standard intravenous chemotherapy would permit... Expand