Immunotherapy combination enables melanoma survivor to sail through retirement

Source: MD Anderson Cancer Center, October 2022

A cancer diagnosis is never good news, but Paul McKinney knows that his stage III melanoma diagnosis at least came at a “good” time in terms of progress in treating the disease.

Thanks to a clinical trial led by Rodabe Amaria, M.D., Paul received a new immunotherapy combination that completely cleared his cancer after two doses and has allowed him to enjoy retirement cancer-free. Recently, Amaria’s team reported that the immunotherapy combination resulted in significant tumor shrinkage for more than half of patients in the study.

The Phase II clinical trial tested the combination of an immune checkpoint inhibitor called nivolumab and relatlimab, a new form of immunotherapy called a LAG-3 antibody, in patients with stage III melanoma who could safely receive the drugs before surgery to remove their cancer. The Food and Drug READ THE ORIGINAL FULL ARTICLE