ONCOmmunity

Prolonged Survival in Stage III Melanoma with Ipilimumab Adjuvant Therapy.

By: Alexander M M Eggermont, Vanna Chiarion-Sileni, Jean-Jacques Grob, Reinhard Dummer, Jedd D Wolchok, Henrik Schmidt, Omid Hamid, Caroline Robert, Paolo A Ascierto, Jon M Richards, Céleste Lebbé, Virginia Ferraresi, Michael Smylie, Jeffrey S Weber, Michele Maio, Lars Bastholt, Laurent Mortier, Luc Thomas, Saad Tahir, Axel Hauschild, Jessica C Hassel, F Stephen Hodi, Corina Taitt, Veerle de Pril, Gaetan de Schaetzen, Stefan Suciu, Alessandro Testori

From Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus Grand Paris, Villejuif (A.M.M.E., C.R.), Aix-Marseille University, Hôpital de La Timone, Marseille (J.-J.G.), Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris (C.L.), University Lille, INSERM Unité-1189, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Lille, Service de Dermatologie, Lille (L.M.), and CHU Lyon, Lyon (L.T.) - all in France; the Oncology Institute of Veneto-Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Padua (V.C.-S.), Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione G. Pascale, Naples (P.A.A.), Istituti Fisioterapici Ospitalieri, Rome (V.F.), University Hospital of Siena, Istituto Toscano Tumori, Siena (M.M.), and the European Institute of Oncology, Milan (A.T.) - all in Italy; University of Zurich Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland (R.D.); Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York (J.D.W.); Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus (H.S.), and Odense University Hospital, Odense (L.B.) - both in Denmark; the Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, Los Angeles (O.H.); Oncology Specialists, Park Ridge, IL (J.M.R.); Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, AB, Canada (M.S.); H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL (J.S.W.); Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, United Kingdom (S.T.); Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel (A.H.), and University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg (J.C.H.) - both in Germany; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston (F.S.H.); Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ (C.T., V.P.); and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Brussels (G.S., S.S.).
2016-10-9; doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1611299

Abstract

Background On the basis of data from a phase 2 trial that compared the checkpoint inhibitor ipilimumab at doses of 0.3 mg, 3 mg, and 10 mg per kilogram of body weight in patients with advanced melanoma, this phase 3 trial evaluated ipilimumab at a dose of 10 mg per kilogram in patients who had undergone complete resection of stage III melanoma. Methods After patients had undergone complete resection of stage III cutaneous melanoma, we randomly assigned them to receive ipilimumab at a dose of 10 mg per kilogram (475 patients) or placebo (476) every 3 weeks for four doses, then every 3 months for up to 3 years or until disease recurrence or an unacceptable level of toxic effects occurred. Recurrence-free survival was the primary end point. Secondary end points included overall survival, distant metastasis-free survival, and safety. Results At a median follow-up of 5.3 years, the 5-year rate of recurrence-free survival was 40.8% in the ipilimumab group, as compared with 30.3% in the placebo group (hazard ratio for recurrence or death, 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.89; P<0.001). The rate of overall survival at 5 years was 65.4% in the ipilimumab group, as compared with 54.4% in the placebo group (hazard ratio for death, 0.72; 95.1% CI, 0.58 to 0.88; P=0.001). The rate of distant metastasis-free survival at 5 years was 48.3% in the ipilimumab group, as compared with 38.9% in the placebo group (hazard ratio for death or distant metastasis, 0.76; 95.8% CI, 0.64 to 0.92; P=0.002). Adverse events of grade 3 or 4 occurred in 54.1% of the patients in the ipilimumab group and in 26.2% of those in the placebo group. Immune-related adverse events of grade 3 or 4 occurred in 41.6% of the patients in the ipilimumab group and in 2.7% of those in the placebo group. In the ipilimumab group, 5 patients (1.1%) died owing to immune-related adverse events. Conclusions As adjuvant therapy for high-risk stage III melanoma, ipilimumab at a dose of 10 mg per kilogram resulted in significantly higher rates of recurrence-free survival, overall survival, and distant metastasis-free survival than placebo. There were more immune-related adverse events with ipilimumab than with placebo. (Funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00636168 , and EudraCT number, 2007-001974-10 .).

PMID:27717298