Advanced melanoma patients new to treatment options have been found to have a better clinical outcome with nivolumab alone or as part of a combination therapy with ipilimumab when compared with ipilimumab alone.
These are the results of a phase 3 study which was presented at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.
The findings greatly confirm the results of a separate phase 1 study of the combination with advanced melanoma as well as the results of a phase 2 study of this combination with untreated melanoma. So explains Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD, Chief of Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, NY.
He also suggested that the study complements clinical activity with nivolumab, which is classified as a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, and ipilimumab, which is classified as a CTLA-4 checkpoint inhibitor.
Wolchok goes on to say, “Based on available evidence, the combination of nivolumab plus ipilimumab represents a means to improve outcomes versus nivolumab alone, particularly for patients whose tumors are low in PD-1 expression.”
He also adds, “In the current era of precision medicine informed by biomarker data, the availability of markers such as PD-L1 expression level will allow meaningful discussions between patients and clinicians regarding the value of interventions, like the combination of nivolumab plus ipilimumab, based up on a real assessment of risk and benefit. Additional insights will be gained with the emergence of the overall survival data.”
At the ASCO meeting, ASCO expert Steven O’Day, MD, commented, “Immunotherapy drugs have already revolutionized melanoma treatment, and now we’re seeing how they might be even more powerful when they’re combined. But the results also warrant caution—the nivolumab and ipilimumab combination used in this study came with greater side effects, which might offset its benefits for some patients. Physicians and patients will need to weigh these considerations carefully.”
These are the results of a phase 3 study which was presented at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.
The findings greatly confirm the results of a separate phase 1 study of the combination with advanced melanoma as well as the results of a phase 2 study of this combination with untreated melanoma. So explains Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD, Chief of Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, NY.
He also suggested that the study complements clinical activity with nivolumab, which is classified as a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, and ipilimumab, which is classified as a CTLA-4 checkpoint inhibitor.
Wolchok goes on to say, “Based on available evidence, the combination of nivolumab plus ipilimumab represents a means to improve outcomes versus nivolumab alone, particularly for patients whose tumors are low in PD-1 expression.”
He also adds, “In the current era of precision medicine informed by biomarker data, the availability of markers such as PD-L1 expression level will allow meaningful discussions between patients and clinicians regarding the value of interventions, like the combination of nivolumab plus ipilimumab, based up on a real assessment of risk and benefit. Additional insights will be gained with the emergence of the overall survival data.”
At the ASCO meeting, ASCO expert Steven O’Day, MD, commented, “Immunotherapy drugs have already revolutionized melanoma treatment, and now we’re seeing how they might be even more powerful when they’re combined. But the results also warrant caution—the nivolumab and ipilimumab combination used in this study came with greater side effects, which might offset its benefits for some patients. Physicians and patients will need to weigh these considerations carefully.”
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