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Prolonged Survival in Stage III Melanoma with Ipilimumab Adjuvant Therapy
Alexander M M Eggermont1, Vanna Chiarion-Sileni1, Jean-Jacques Grob1
1From Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus Grand Paris, Villejuif (A.M.M.E., C.R.), Aix-Marseille University, Hôpital de La Timone, Marseille (J.-J.G.), Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Saint-Louis, Paris (C.L.), University Lille, INSERM Unité-1189, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Lille, Service de Dermatologie, Lille (L.M.), and CHU Lyon, Lyon (L.T.) - all in France; the Oncology Institute of Veneto-Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, Padua (V.C.-S.), Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione G. Pascale, Naples (P.A.A.), Istituti Fisioterapici Ospitalieri, Rome (V.F.), University Hospital of Siena, Istituto Toscano Tumori, Siena (M.M.), and the European Institute of Oncology, Milan (A.T.) - all in Italy; University of Zurich Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland (R.D.); Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York (J.D.W.); Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus (H.S.), and Odense University Hospital, Odense (L.B.) - both in Denmark; the Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, Los Angeles (O.H.); Oncology Specialists, Park Ridge, IL (J.M.R.); Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, AB, Canada (M.S.); H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL (J.S.W.); Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, United Kingdom (S.T.); Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel (A.H.), and University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg (J.C.H.) - both in Germany; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston (F.S.H.); Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ (C.T., V.P.); and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Brussels (G.S., S.S.).
Background:
On the basis of data from a phase 2 trial that compared the checkpoint inhibitor ipilimumab at doses of 0.3 mg, 3 mg, and 10 mg per kilogram of body weight in patients with advanced melanoma, this phase 3 trial evaluated ipilimumab at a dose of 10 mg per kilogram in patients who had undergone complete resection of stage III melanoma.
Methods:
After patients had undergone complete resection of stage III cutaneous melanoma, we randomly assigned them to receive ipilimumab at a dose of 10 mg per kilogram (475 patients) or placebo (476) every 3 weeks for four doses, then every 3 months for up to 3 years or until disease recurrence or an unacceptable level of toxic effects occurred. Recurrence-free survival was the primary end point. Secondary end points included overall survival, distant metastasis-free survival, and safety.
Results:
At a median follow-up of 5.3 years, the 5-year rate of recurrence-free survival was 40.8% in the ipilimumab group, as compared with 30.3% in the placebo group (hazard ratio for recurrence or death, 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.64 to 0.89; P<0.001). The rate of overall survival at 5 years was 65.4% in the ipilimumab group, as compared with 54.4% in the placebo group (hazard ratio for death, 0.72; 95.1% CI, 0.58 to 0.88; P=0.001). The rate of distant metastasis-free survival at 5 years was 48.3% in the ipilimumab group, as compared with 38.9% in the placebo group (hazard ratio for death or distant metastasis, 0.76; 95.8% CI, 0.64 to 0.92; P=0.002). Adverse events of grade 3 or 4 occurred in 54.1% of the patients in the ipilimumab group and in 26.2% of those in the placebo group. Immune-related adverse events of grade 3 or 4 occurred in 41.6% of the patients in the ipilimumab group and in 2.7% of those in the placebo group. In the ipilimumab group, 5 patients (1.1%) died owing to immune-related adverse events.
Conclusions:
As adjuvant therapy for high-risk stage III melanoma, ipilimumab at a dose of 10 mg per kilogram resulted in significantly higher rates of recurrence-free survival, overall survival, and distant metastasis-free survival than placebo. There were more immune-related adverse events with ipilimumab than with placebo. (Funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00636168 , and EudraCT number, 2007-001974-10 .).
