New phase 2 data suggest immunotherapy could stall mesothelioma progression—and that when it comes to Bristol-Myers Squibb’s checkpoint inhibitors, two might be better than one.
Early results unveiled Monday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting showed that Bristol’s PD-1 med Opdivo and CTLA4 drug Yervoy slowed disease growth in patients with relapsed malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). At the 12-week mark, cancer hadn’t worsened in 44% of patients treated with Opdivo and 50% of those treated with the Opdivo-Yervoy combo, Bristol said.
The two-drug combo edged Opdivo monotherapy elsewhere, too. Solo, Opdivo held off cancer progression for a median four months, while the tandem treatment staved off the advance of the disease for a median 5.6 months. And when it came to extending patients’ lives, the Opdivo-only cohort posted a 10.4 month median overall survival, while patients taking the immunotherapy duo hadn’t yet hit the median.
Those are big numbers, considering that MPM is a “devastating” disease that currently lacks treatment options, BMS’ oncology development head, Fouad Namouni, said in an interview.
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Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo, Yervoy put the brakes on mesothelioma in phase 2
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