Adjuvant nivolumab for stage III/IV melanoma: evaluation of safety outcomes and association with recurrence-free survival.

Several therapeutic options are now available in the adjuvant melanoma setting, mandating an understanding of their benefit‒risk profiles in order to make informed treatment decisions. Herein we characterize adjuvant nivolumab select (immune-related) treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) and evaluate possible associations between safety and recurrence-free survival (RFS) in the phase III CheckMate 238 trial. Patients with resected stage IIIB-C or IV melanoma received nivolumab 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks (n=452) or ipilimumab 10 mg/kg every 3 weeks for four doses and then every 12 weeks (n=453) for up to 1 year or until disease recurrence, unacceptable toxicity, or consent withdrawal. First-occurrence and all-occurrence select TRAEs were analyzed within discrete time intervals: from 0 to 3 months of treatment, from >3-12 months of treatment, and from the last dose (regardless of early or per-protocol treatment discontinuation) to 100 days after the last dose. Possible associations between select TRAEs and RFS were investigated post randomization in 3-month landmark analyses and in Cox model analyses (including a time-varying covariate of select TRAE), within and between treatment groups. From the first nivolumab dose to 100 days after the last dose, first-occurrence select TRAEs were reported in 67.7% (306/452) of patients. First-occurrence select TRAEs were reported most frequently from 0 to 3 months (48.0%), during which the most common were pruritus (15.5%) and diarrhea (15.3%). Most select TRAEs resolved within 6 months. There was no clear association between the occurrence (or not) of select TRAEs and RFS by landmark analysis or by Cox model analysis within treatment arms or comparing nivolumab to the ipilimumab comparator arm. Results of this safety analysis of nivolumab in adjuvant melanoma were consistent with its established safety profile. In the discrete time intervals evaluated, most first-occurrence TRAEs occurred early during treatment and resolved. No association between RFS and select TRAEs was evident. NCT02388906

Overall Survival with Combined Nivolumab and Ipilimumab in Advanced Melanoma

This is the three year update of a randomised phase III trial in patients with locally advanced inoperable stage III or stage IV melanoma. 1296 patients were radomised to receive either ipilimumab (Ipi), nivolumab (Nivo) or both antibodies (Ipi+Nivo). Complete responses were seen in 5, 16 & 19% of patients in the Ipi, Nivo and Ipi+Nivo groups respectively. Partial responses were seen in 14, 28 & 29% of patients respectively. With a minimum follow up of 28 months 3 year overall survivals were 32, 52 & 58% in the Ipi, Nivo & Ipi+Nivo respectively. In patients with braf mutations the three year survivals were 37, 56 & 68% in the three groups. This compares with a three year survival of 44% in the dabrafenib plus trametinib arm of the COMBI-D trial (J. Clin. Oncol. 2017 Dob: 10.1200/JCO.2017.74.1025). These data represent practice changing data for oncologist who treat melanoma and life changing treatment for patients with metastatic melanoma

Disparities in access to oncology clinical trials in Europe in the period 2009-2019

Background: Clinical trials are essential for advancing cancer treatment. Yet, there is limited data on their distribution and access in Europe. To ascertain the extent of potential inequalities in access to clinical trials in Europe, we compared their distribution among European countries. Methods: The Clinicaltrials.gov database was searched for interventional clinical trials in adults with neoplasms. Available data from phase I-III trials between 06/2009 to 06/2019 in Europe were retrieved. We considered the number of clinical trials registered in each country and one “trial-entry” was defined as one trial/country. Results: In total, 18454 trial-entries were identified, of which 12% were phase I, 10% phase I/II, 32% phase II, 2% phase II/III and 44% phase III; 74% were industry-sponsored, 15% were academic and 11% were an academic/industry partnership. The number of trials per country varied from 2.48 in Central/Eastern Europe to 5.33/100 000 inhabitants in Northern Europe. The proportion of phase I-II trials was higher in the Southern and Western regions (13-15%) compared to Central/Eastern and Northern regions (4-9%). The number of trial-entries/100 000 inhabitants/country ranged from 0.14 (Albania) to 10.7 (Belgium). Between 2010 and 2018, the total number of trials per country in Europe increased by 33%. The increase in early-phase trials was larger (phase I-II, 61%) than in late-phase trials (phase II-III, 7%). Portugal, Ireland, Finland, Greece and Norway registered the largest percentage increase in early-phase trials, while Ireland, Spain, Norway, Italy and Belgium led the largest percentage increase in late-phase trials. Five countries dominated in terms of an increase in the absolute number of total trial-entries in both early- and late-phase trials: Spain (90/40), France (45/16), UK (45/13), Italy (38/19) and Belgium (35/12). During this period there was no significant variation in the distribution of industry and academic sponsored trials but an increase in industry/academic partnerships was observed (= 8%). Conclusions: The number of clinical trials varies greatly among European regions resulting in potential asymmetries in patients’ access to clinical trials. The disparities in access to oncology trials need to be addressed by all the stakeholders

Prophylactic TNF blockade uncouples efficacy and toxicity in dual CTLA-4 and PD-1 immunotherapy.

Combined PD-1 and CTLA-4-targeted immunotherapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab is effective against melanoma, renal cell carcinoma and non-small-cell lung cancer1-3. However, this comes at the cost of frequent, serious immune-related adverse events, necessitating a reduction in the recommended dose of ipilimumab that is given to patients4. In mice, co-treatment with surrogate anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibodies is effective in transplantable cancer models, but also exacerbates autoimmune colitis. Here we show that treating mice with clinically available TNF inhibitors concomitantly with combined CTLA-4 and PD-1 immunotherapy ameliorates colitis and, in addition, improves anti-tumour efficacy. Notably, TNF is upregulated in the intestine of patients suffering from colitis after dual ipilimumab and nivolumab treatment. We created a model in which Rag2-/-Il2rg-/- mice were adoptively transferred with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, causing graft-versus-host disease that was further exacerbated by ipilimumab and nivolumab treatment. When human colon cancer cells were xenografted into these mice, prophylactic blockade of human TNF improved colitis and hepatitis in xenografted mice, and moreover, immunotherapeutic control of xenografted tumours was retained. Our results provide clinically feasible strategies to dissociate efficacy and toxicity in the use of combined immune checkpoint blockade for cancer immunotherapy