In a nutshell
This study looked at combined treatment with ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo) for metastatic uveal melanoma (UM). They found that this treatment combination was promising in these patients.
Some background
Metastatic UM is melanoma that starts in the eye and spreads to other organs. Compared to skin melanoma, metastatic UM is difficult to treat. Immune therapies have improved the outlook for patients with skin melanoma in recent years. However, treatment with a single immune therapy has limited effectiveness in metastatic UM. Combined treatment with two immune therapies is effective in some cases of advanced skin melanoma. It is not yet known if patients with advanced UM could also respond to this combination.
Methods & findings
33 patients with metastatic UM participated in this trial. They received 4 doses of nivolumab and ipilimumab over a 12 week period. They then received maintenance doses of nivolumab every 2-4 weeks for up to 2 years. Maintenance treatment is given to keep cancer from returning or to delay its progression. Participants were followed up for an average of 13 months.
18% of patients responded to treatment. 1 patient showed a complete response to treatment (complete disappearance of cancer). 5 patients had a partial response (tumor shrinkage). An additional 6 patients remained stable throughout the treatment period. The average overall survival time for the group was 19.1 months.
Serious treatment-related complications occurred in 40% of patients and 30% of patients had to stop treatment due to side effects.
The bottom line
This study showed that the combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab had promising effectiveness in patients with metastatic UM.
The fine print
This study had a very small number of participants. More studies are needed to confirm these results. This study was supported by Bristol Myers Squibb, the manufacturer of nivolumab and ipilimumab.
Published By :
Journal of clinical oncology
Date :
Oct 30, 2020
