In a nutshell
The authors aimed to determine long-term survival in advanced skin cancer patients treated with ipilimumab.
Some background
Advanced melanoma is skin cancer that has spread deep within the skin to other sites of the body. There are limited treatments available for advanced skin cancer and patients have poor five-year survival rates of 10%. Ipilimumab (Yervoy) is a man-made immune cell (targets infection and disease in the body) that attaches to healthy immune cells in the body to boost their response to cancer cells.
Methods & findings
The aim of this study was to determine long-term survival in patients treated with ipilimumab.
1,861 patients were used in this study with an average follow-up time of 11 months. The average overall survival (length of time patients during which did not die from skin cancer following treatment) for all patients was 11.4 months, with a 3-year survival rate of 22%.
Patients who had not received treatment before ipilimumab had an overall survival of 13.5 months and a 3-year survival rate of 26% compared to an overall survival of 10.7 months and 3-year survival rate of 20% in patients who did receive treatment before ipilimumab.
The 1,861 patients used in this study were combined with 2,985 patients from additional studies treated with ipilimumab. The average overall survival was 9.5 months and the 3-year survival rate was 21%.
The bottom line
The authors concluded that ipilimumab treatment in advanced skin cancer patients improved long-term survival outcomes.
The fine print
Numerous experiments carried out by separate groups were included in this study which may have biased the results.
What’s next?
If you are considering ipilimumab treatment, please consult your doctor for potential risks and benefits.
Published By :
Journal of clinical oncology
Date :
Feb 09, 2015
