medwireNews: CheckMate 142 findings point to a role for dual PD-1 and CTLA-4 inhibition with nivolumab and ipilimumab in patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) that is DNA mismatch repair-deficient or has high microsatellite instability (dMMR/MSI-H).
Michael Overman (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA) and co-investigators previously reported results from the nivolumab cohort of the same trial, which showed a clinical benefit with the monotherapy.
But now they say: “Considering the indirect comparisons that suggest numerically higher response rates and an improved long-term clinical benefit with nivolumab plus ipilimumab relative to anti–PD-1 monotherapy, […the combination] represents a promising new treatment option in these patients.”
In the phase II trial, 55% of 119 patients given nivolumab plus ipilimumab achieved an objective response over a median follow-up of 13.4 months, and 80% had disease control that lasted at least 12 weeks. The median duration of response had not been reached at data cutoff and 94% of responses were ongoing.
The progression-free and overall survival rates at 12 months were 71% and 85%, respectively, the researchers report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The participants received four rounds of nivolumab 3 mg/kg plus ipilimumab 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks, followed by the same dose of nivolumab given every 2 weeks.
medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare. © 2018 Springer Healthcare part of the Springer Nature group
See also: