Big Steps Forward In Melanoma Treatment But Tread Carefully

In this study, which is billed as the largest phase I (initial) drug trial ever done, 411 patients received the drug. 34% of the patients-including patients who had received prior immune treatment using a different approach-responded. In those patients who responded, 88% continued to show evidence of benefit at the time the study was analyzed. The researchers estimated that 74% of the patients who had not received prior treatment with ipilimumab would be alive at one year, while the one year survival for those who had received prior ipilimumab was 65%. In another report, researchers described a study which included a small number (53) of patients with advanced melanoma who received a combination of the immunotherapy drugs ipilimumab and nivolumab. These patients had received up to three prior treatments for their disease, meaning that any responses for some of them would be truly remarkable. The results showed that 41 percent of the patients responded, and 17% (or 9) patients had complete responses. Median survival (meaning half lived less and half lived more) was 39.7 months, a remarkable result. And according to the researchers, the toxicities of the combination were tolerable and treatable-notwithstanding that ipilimumab is well known to be a drug with considerable side effects. And last but not least, there was another report that the same ipilimumab when used in the adjuvant setting to prevent cancer spread after primary treatment reduced recurrence rates for patients wh...
Source: Dr. Len's Cancer Blog - Category: Cancer Authors: Tags: Access to care Cancer Care Medications Research Skin Cancer Treatment Source Type: blogs