Nivolumab More Effective Than Ipilimumab in Resected High-Risk Melanoma
Source: Cancer Network, June 2018
Extended follow-up from the CheckMate 238 trial confirmed the superior efficacy of nivolumab compared with ipilimumab in patients with stage III and IV resected melanoma.
“There is a clear clinical need for the adjuvant treatment of patients with high-risk stages III and IV resected melanoma,” said Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, of New York University’s Perlmutter Cancer Center. The 5-year recurrence rates range from 50% to 80% in higher-risk patients, and most recurrences happen within 3 years for stage III patients.
Weber presented results (abstract 9502) of a 24-month follow-up analysis from the CheckMate 238 trial at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, held June 1–5 in Chicago. The trial included 906 patients randomized evenly to receive either nivolumab or ipilimumab, along with matching placebo. Patients had a median age of 56 years in the nivolumab group and 54 years in the ipilimumab group, and 81% in each group had stage III disease. Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression of at least 5% was present in 34% of both groups.