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Soo Park, MD
Soo Park, MD
Posted: Friday, September 20, 2024
The 10-year survival follow-up from the phase III CheckMate 067 trial, which was presented during the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 (Abstract LBA43), showed a continued benefit with first-line nivolumab-containing regimens in patients with advanced melanoma. According to James Larkin, PhD, FRCP, of the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, and colleagues, these final results underscore how immune checkpoint inhibitors have transformed the long-term prognosis for this population.
“The survival curves [for nivolumab plus ipilimumab have] remained stable for some years now,” Dr. Larkin commented in a press release. “Remarkably, 43% of patients treated with nivolumab and ipilimumab are alive 10 years later, and many did not need subsequent therapy.” The investigators added: “There is now a potential for cure in patients responsive to these treatments.”
A total of 945 previously untreated patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive 1 mg/kg of nivolumab plus 3 mg/kg of ipilimumab every 3 weeks for four doses followed by 3 mg/kg of nivolumab every 2 weeks; 3 mg/kg of nivolumab every 2 weeks plus an ipilimumab-matched placebo; or 3 mg/kg of ipilimumab every 3 weeks for four doses plus a nivolumab-matched placebo. After a 10-year minimum follow-up, the median overall survival was longer with the nivolumab-containing regimens vs ipilimumab alone (nivolumab plus ipilimumab: 71.9 vs 19.9 months, hazard ratio [HR] = 0.53; nivolumab alone: 36.9 vs 19.9 months, HR = 0.63). The overall survival benefit was found to be consistent across subgroups, including those defined by PD-L1 expression and BRAF mutation status.
The median duration of melanoma-specific survival was not reached (> 120 months) with nivolumab plus ipilimumab, 49.4 months with nivolumab alone, and 21.9 months with ipilimumab alone. In patients who had progression-free survival for at least 3 years, the 10-year melanoma-specific survival rates were 96%, 97%, and 88%, respectively.
Disclosure: For full disclosures of the study authors, visit cslide.ctimeetingtech.com.
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