Bristol-Myers Squibb boasts impressive 5-year melanoma OS data on Opdivo/Yervoy combo, though it still can't pinpoint who should take it
BARCELONA — Two years ago Bristol-Myers Squibb took the stage at AACR to showcase some impressive 5-year survival rates with Opdivo, underscoring the durability of the PD-1 inhibitor and flagging tumor mutation burden as a potential biomarker to predict response. At ESMO Congress 2019, the spotlight is on melanoma — but the search for a predictive signal seems ever elusive.
Now the longest Phase III follow-up involving a checkpoint combo, the 5-year OS datacut of Checkmate-067 extends an impressive streak on display the year before. Among 945 patients with stage III and IV melanoma split into three equal groups, the rates are 52% for Opdivo plus Yervoy, 44% for Opdivo, and 26% for Yervoy (For reference, at 4 years the combo scored 53%, Opdivo alone had 46%, while Yervoy monotherapy registered 30%).
To understand how remarkable this is, one must revisit the past, said study author James Larkin in an ESMO statement, when metastatic melanoma was considered untreatable.
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