Combination treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors nivolumab and ipilimumab demonstrates overall survival for patients with melanoma that has spread to the brain, according to Phase II study results published today in The Lancet Oncology by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Final results from the CheckMate 204 study confirm durable responses from the combination therapy — which became first-line standard of care in this population based on the Phase II study results — with an overall survival rate of 71.9% in asymptomatic patients at three years. Among those whose cancer responded to treatment within 12 weeks, overall survival was 92%. In patients with symptomatic brain metastases or on corticosteroid therapy, responses were lower but remained durable, with 36.6% overall survival.
“Inducing an intracranial response with combination immunotherapy has a direct and lasting impact on survival for patients whose melanoma has spread to the brain,” said lead author Hussein Tawbi, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Melanoma Medical Oncology and co-director of the Brain Metastasis Clinic at MD Anderson. “We’ve shown that this treatment offers a chance of long-term survival to patients with a historically dire prognosis.”
About 40% of patients with stage IV melanoma have brain metastases at diagnosis, while 75% develop brain metastases at some point. Before this combination was introduced, the one-year survival rate for patients with melanoma brain metastases was about 20%.
