First-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab in pleural mesothelioma: Efficacy and safety data from the real-world MesoNet...

Despite the approval of nivolumab/ipilimumab, the prognosis of patients with pleural mesothelioma (PM) remains poor. Although this combination has shown improved survival in the landmark CheckMate (CM)-743 trial, evidence from real-world settings remains limited.

In this retrospective, multicenter study, the outcome and safety data for 135 consecutive patients with first-line nivolumab/ipilimumab were evaluated among 1,575 adult patients with PM from 12 German cancer centers. Radiologic response and progression were analyzed according to the revised modified RECIST criteria.

The median overall survival (OS) was 13.1 months for the unselected real-world cohort, and 15.5 months for CM-743-eligible patients (16.7 months for the non-epithelioid and 10 months for the epithelioid subtypes). Patients who experienced partial responses to nivolumab/ipilimumab had significantly longer survival than those without (24 months vs. 10.3 months; p = 0.00026). 37 % of patients experienced immune-related adverse events (irAEs), among whom 58 % had grade 3/4 toxicity. IrAEs of any grade were associated with longer survival (17.3 months vs. 11.7 months for patients without irAEs; p = 0.022). Furthermore, grade 1/2 irAEs were associated with even better outcomes when compared to grade 3/4 toxicities (22.7 months vs. 16.7 months median OS) and absence of toxicity (p < 0.0167 for trend).

Overall survival with first-line nivolumab/ipilimumab in the real-world setting is comparable to the CM-743 results among trial-eligible patients, especially with non-epithelioid tumors, but shorter for the unselected cohort. IrAEs, in particular those of low-grade, were associated with better outcomes. In the absence of predictive biomarkers and with few therapeutic options available, both dual checkpoint blockade and platinum-pemetrexed chemotherapy remain viable first-line regimens.