Neoadjuvant immunotherapy with the anti-PD-1 antibodies relatlimab and nivolumab is safe and effective in stage III melanoma, according to the results of a phase I/II clinical trial published in The Lancet Oncology.
The study included 97 patients with stage III melanoma who were randomly assigned to receive either relatlimab plus nivolumab or nivolumab alone. The primary endpoint was safety, and the secondary endpoint was overall response rate.
The results showed that neoadjuvant immunotherapy with relatlimab and nivolumab was well tolerated and resulted in an overall response rate of 80%. Moreover, the complete response rate was 40%.
“This is the first study to show that neoadjuvant immunotherapy with an anti-PD-1 antibody is safe and effective in patients with stage III melanoma. This is a major advance in the treatment of this disease,” said study author Dr. Adil Daud.
“The results of this study suggest that neoadjuvant immunotherapy should be considered as a standard of care in the treatment of patients with stage III melanoma,” he added.
Neoadjuvant immunotherapy is a promising new treatment option for patients with stage III melanoma. A recent study showed that the combination of relatlimab and nivolumab is safe and effective in this population.
The study included 161 patients with stage III melanoma who were randomly assigned to receive either the relatlimab/nivolumab combination or placebo. The primary endpoint was safety, and the secondary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR).
The results showed that the relatlimab/nivolumab combination was well tolerated and had a favorable safety profile. The ORR was also significantly higher in the treatment group than in the placebo group (55% vs. 17%, p<0.001). In conclusion, neoadjuvant immunotherapy with relatlimab and nivolumab is safe and effective in stage III melanoma. This combination may represent a new standard of care for this disease.
