This exploratory study demonstrated that patients with high-risk operable nodal involvement with melanoma who had a clinical response to high dose IFN-α2b therapy over the 4-week induction phase of neoadjuvant therapy had a significant increase in STAT1 activation in peripheral blood T cells, but not B cells, upon IFN-α stimulation from Day 0 to Day 29. The gene discussed is IFNA1; the disease is melanoma.