It Takes Two

Source: Cure Today, June 2018

PAIRING TWO IMMUNOTHERAPIES COULD bring multiple benefits for some people with advanced melanoma — a longer respite from the disease, and from some of the health and financial costs it generates.

By interfering with proteins that normally keep the immune system from going into overdrive, checkpoint inhibitors free up the body’s disease-fighting mechanism to better recognize and attack cancer. Two drugs in this class, Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab), are standard options for melanoma that has spread within the body.