Pierce Underscores the Importance of 2-Step Verification With Relatlimab/Nivolumab
Source: Oncology Nursing News, May 2023
On this episode of The Vitals, Oncology Nursing News® talks with Amber Pierce RN, BSN, OCN, regional nurse manager at Oncology Hematology Associates, an American Oncology Network partner practice, about the importance of 2-step verification with nivolumab and relatlimab-rmbw (Opdualag), which was approved for patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma in March 2022.
The FDA approval was supported by data from the phase 2/3 RELATIVITY-046 trial (NCT03470922), which demonstrated that patients who received nivolumab/relatlimab as a frontline treatment experienced a median progression-free survival (PFS) that was double that of patients who received nivolumab alone.
As Pierce highlights in the discussion, the combination is novel because relatlimab is a LAG-3 inhibitor. Moreover, the combination was approved as a fixed dose regimen comprised of a single intravenous infusion of 480 mg nivolumab and 160 mg relatlimab to be given every 4 weeks. Because of this, it is important that nurses understand the potential risk of medication errors.