Frontline treatment with nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) induced durable and long-term efficacy, compared with chemotherapy, in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and tumor PD-L1 expression ≥ 1% or < 1%, according to updated results from part 1 of the phase III Checkmate 227 trial presented at the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program.
“Based on these results, we note that the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab, which is now approved by the United States FDA, is a novel chemotherapy-sparing first-line treatment approach for advanced-stage non-small-cell lung cancer,” Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, FASCO, deputy director, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, said during his presentation.
After a median follow-up of 43.1 months, patients with PD-L1 ≥ 1% had a 21% and 10%, respectively, reduced risk for death when treated with nivolumab…