A randomized, controlled phase III trial of nab-Paclitaxel versus dacarbazine in chemotherapy-naïve patients with metastatic melanoma.

The efficacy and safety of nab-paclitaxel versus dacarbazine in patients with metastatic melanoma was evaluated in a phase III randomized, controlled trial.Chemotherapy-naïve patients with stage IV melanoma received nab-paclitaxel 150 mg/m(2) on days 1, 8, and 15 every 4 weeks or dacarbazine 1000 mg/m(2) every 3 weeks. The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) by independent radiologic review; the secondary end point was overall survival (OS).A total of 529 patients were randomized to nab-paclitaxel (n = 264) or dacarbazine (n = 265). Baseline characteristics were well balanced. The majority of patients were men (66%), had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group status of 0 (7…