Combined effect of ipilimumab and nivolumab improves oncology endpoints in metastatic melanoma patients

Metastatic melanoma has less frequency, but considered as the most dreaded cancer. The combination of nivolumab & ipilimumab is proving their mettle in treating metastatic melanoma. The patients when administered with the combination of nivolumab & ipilimumab have shown improved median progression free survival, objective response rate and overall survival rate compared with nivolumab and ipilimumab monotherapy. The combination shrinks the tumor cells by attacking different checkpoints viz. CTLA-4 and PD-L1, respectively. The combination treatment reveals reduced disease progression and suggests nivolumab's non-cross resistant nature. The median progression free survival in nivolumab plus ipilimumab group has shown an increase of 66.7% and 296.6% in comparison to nivolumab and ipilimumab monotherapy. The other parameter viz. objective response rate improvement is equivalent to almost 14% and 38.6% when compared to nivolumab and ipilimumab monotherapy, respectively.

Automated summary

Metastatic melanoma is a less frequent but highly feared cancer. The combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab has shown its effectiveness in treating this condition. Compared to monotherapy with nivolumab or ipilimumab, the combination treatment improves median progression free survival, objective response rate, and overall survival rate. By targeting different checkpoints (CTLA-4 and PD-L1), the combination treatment reduces tumor size and suggests the non-cross resistant nature of nivolumab. The median progression free survival is significantly increased in the nivolumab plus ipilimumab group, with improvements in objective response rate compared to monotherapy.