Closing in on a Cure for Advanced Melanoma?

Historically, aiming for a cure in patients with stage IV melanoma has seemed an unrealistic goal or sometimes a lucky exception. In an international, industry-sponsored, phase 3 study, researchers previously reported better survival outcomes for patients who received nivolumab-containing immunotherapy regimens after 3 years of follow-up (N Engl J Med 2017; 377:1345) and after 6.5 years (J Clin Oncol 2022; 20:127) compared with ipilimumab monotherapy. Now, with a minimum follow-up of 10 years, they report the final analysis of the outcome.

Median overall survival at 10 years was significantly longer in the nivolumab-ipilimumab and nivolumab arms than in the ipilimumab arm (71.9 and 36.9 vs. 19.9 months). Among patients who were alive and without disease progression at 3 years, 10-year melanoma-specific survival was 97% in the nivolumab group, 88% in the ipilimumab group, and 96% in the nivolumab-ipilimumab group. No new safety signals were noted.