Bristol-Myers Squibb has announced positive results from its trial into the efficacy of combination therapy with Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab), compared with either drug as a monotherapy, for patients with advanced melanoma.

Four year survival rates for the Opdivo-Yervoy combination were 53%, compared to 46% for Opdivo alone and 30% for Yervoy alone.

Patients with tumours carrying the BRAF mutation saw a 62% four-year survival rate for patients taking the combination therapy, compared to 50% of those taking Opdivo only and 33% for Yervoy only. This fell to 49% for the combination therapy group with wild type BRAF mutation, however, this remains higher than the 45% for Opdivo alone and 28% for Yervoy alone.

The percentage of patients who experienced a complete response and continued to respond over the four year period were 21% for Opdivo plus Yervoy, 18% for Opdivo alone and 5% for Yervoy alone.

Also, a higher proportion of patients treated with the combination therapy were treatment-free at four years than those treated with either monotherapy. Overall, 71% of Opdivo plus Yervoy patients were treatment-free, compared to 50% for Opdivo and 39% for Yervoy.

These positive results were from the pharmaceutical company’s phase III CheckMate -067 trial, which involved 954 patients with previously untreated advanced melanoma. They were divided evenly into the three treatment groups: combination therapy, Opdivo monotherapy and Yervoy monotherapy.

Trial investigator and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Melanoma Centre director F. Stephen Hodi said: "These four-year results from CheckMate -067, which represent the longest follow-up to date for patients receiving combination therapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab, enhance our understanding of the potential long-term survival benefits of combination therapy, regardless of PD-L1 expression levels, to combat this aggressive form of melanoma.

Bristol-Myers Squibb development lead for melanoma and genitourinary cancers Arvin Yang said: "These latest results from CheckMate -067 provide further support of the long-term scientific rationale for combining Opdivo and Yervoy for the treatment of advanced melanoma.

"This study advances our mission of understanding how we can best harness the body’s immune system to fight this aggressive form of cancer and provide healthcare professionals and patients with a durable and safe treatment option."

The combination regiment of Opdivo and Yervoy to treat metastatic melanoma, the deadliest form of the skin cancer, is approved in 50 countries worldwide, including the US and European Union states.

Bristol-Myers Squibb will present these results at the European Society of Medical Oncology 2018 Congress in Munich, which is running from 19 to 23 October.

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