The overall response rate was found to be 35.1%, lower than what has been reported in prior studies
Clinical Pearls
This was a retrospective, multi-center study investigating the effectiveness and safety of the combined use of Nivolumab and Ipilimumab in Japanese patients
Data from 111 patients with advanced melanoma treated with Nivolumab and Ipilimumab between June 2018 and August 2018 at 19 institutes in Japan was used
The overall response rate was found to be 35.1%, lower than what has been reported in prior studies
Discussion:
In this research letter, Fujisawa et. al investigate the effectiveness and safety of the combined use of Nivolumab and Ipilimumab in Japanese patients. Of note, the authors cited the majority of clinical trials using these drugs for melanoma were performed in Western populations, and thus, further studies such as this one in Asian populations are needed. This was a retrospective, multi-center study using data from 111 patients with advanced melanoma treated with Nivolumab and Ipilimumab between June 2018 and August 2019 at 19 institutes in Japan.
48.6% of the study’s population was found to have acral and mucosal melanoma. Of the total 111 patients included, 49 (44.1%) were able to complete four cycles of Nivolumab and Ipilimumab while 62 had discontinued treatment, 40 of which experienced adverse events. There were a total of 107 evaluable patients and 18 (16.8%) of these had achieved a complete response, 21 (19.6%) achieved a partial response, 25 (23.4%) had stable disease, and 43 (40.2%) experienced progressive disease. The response rate in this study was 35.1%, which the authors emphasized was lower than what has been reported in the past.
Limitations of this study include its retrospective design, small sample size, and lack of response evaluation for subsequent therapy.
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