Cited by 3,723Cancer Immunotherapy and BiomarkersCutaneous Melanoma Detection and ManagementMelanoma and MAPK Pathways

Five-Year Survival with Combined Nivolumab and Ipilimumab in Advanced Melanoma

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Larkin, James, Chiarion-Sileni, Vanna, Gonzalez, Rene, Grob, Jean-Jacques, Rutkowski, Piotr, Lao, Christopher D., Cowey, C. Lance, Schadendorf, Dirk +23 more·2019·New England Journal of Medicine

Abstract

BACKGROUNDNivolumab plus ipilimumab or nivolumab alone resulted in longer progression-free and overall survival than ipilimumab alone in a trial involving patients with advanced melanoma.We now report 5-year outcomes in the trial. METHODSWe randomly assigned patients with previously untreated advanced melanoma to receive one of the following regimens: nivolumab (at a dose of 1 mg per kilogram of body weight) plus ipilimumab (3 mg per kilogram) every 3 weeks for four doses, followed by nivolumab (3 mg per kilogram every 2 weeks); nivolumab (3 mg per kilogram every 2 weeks) plus ipilimumab-matched placebo; or ipilimumab (3 mg per kilogram every 3 weeks for four doses) plus nivolumab-matched placebo.The two primary end points were progression-free survival and overall survival in the nivolumab-plus-ipilimumab group and in the nivolumab group, as compared with the ipilimumab group. RESULTSAt a minimum follow-up of 60 months, the median overall survival was more than 60.0 months (median not reached) in the nivolumab-plus-ipilimumab group and 36.9 months in the nivolumab group, as compared with 19.9 months in the ipilimumab group (hazard ratio for death with nivolumab plus ipilimumab vs. ipilimumab, 0.52; hazard ratio for death with nivolumab vs. ipilimumab, 0.63).Overall survival at 5 years was 52% in the nivolumab-plus-ipilimumab group and 44% in the nivolumab group, as compared with 26% in the ipilimumab group.No sustained deterioration of health-related quality of life was observed during or after treatment with nivolumab plus ipilimumab or with nivolumab alone.No new late toxic effects were noted. CONCLUSIONSAmong patients with advanced melanoma, sustained long-term overall survival at 5 years was observed in a greater percentage of patients who received nivolumab plus ipilimumab or nivolumab alone than in those who received ipilimumab alone, with no apparent loss of quality of life in the patients who received regimens containing nivolumab.(Funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb and others; CheckMate 067 ClinicalTrials.govnumber, NCT01844505.

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Crossref · 10.1056/nejmoa1910836

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  • In many cancers, nivolumab plus ipilimumab improves response rates compared to either agent alone.

    “In many cancers, nivolumab in combination with ipilimumab improves response rates compared to either agent alone, but the combination has not been evaluated in childhood cancer.”

    From A Phase I/II Trial of Nivolumab plus Ipilimumab in Children and Young Adults with Relapsed/Refractory Solid Tumors: A Children's Oncology Group Study ADVL1412 (2022) · cites this paper as [12]

    The Response section reports higher objective response rates with nivolumab plus ipilimumab (58%) than with nivolumab alone (45%) or ipilimumab alone (19%). The trial studied advanced melanoma, so it does not establish the claim across “many cancers.” (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Nivolumab plus ipilimumab has shown favourable efficacy outcomes and manageable safety profiles across multiple tumour types.

    “Nivolumab, a PD-1 inhibitor, in combination with ipilimumab, a CTLA-4 inhibitor, has shown favourable efficacy outcomes and manageable safety profiles across multiple tumour types.”

    From Nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus lenvatinib or sorafenib as first-line treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (CheckMate 9DW): an open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial (2025) · cites this paper as [12]

    The Abstract reports improved five-year survival with nivolumab plus ipilimumab in advanced melanoma, and the Safety section reports no newly identified long-term toxic effects. But this trial addresses melanoma, not multiple tumour types; its Safety section also reports grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events in 59% of patients receiving the combination, so 'manageable safety profiles' needs qualification. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Immune checkpoint inhibitors greatly enhance clinical outcomes across multiple cancer types.

    “While immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have greatly enhanced clinical outcomes across multiple cancer types,1, 2, 3”

    From irAE-GPT: leveraging large language models to identify immune-related adverse events in electronic health records and clinical trial datasets (2026) · cites this paper as [3]

    The Survival Outcomes section reports substantially better five-year survival with nivolumab plus ipilimumab or nivolumab alone than with ipilimumab alone in advanced melanoma. The paper addresses melanoma, not clinical outcomes across multiple cancer types. No page number is supplied for the Survival Outcomes passage. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • In unresectable or metastatic melanoma, 5-year overall survival is 52% with nivolumab plus ipilimumab, 44% with nivolumab alone, and 26% with ipilimumab alone.

    “In unresectable or metastatic melanoma, overall survival at 5 years is 52% following nivolumab plus ipilimumab compared to 44% for nivolumab alone and 26% for ipilimumab alone12,13.”
  • Evidence for benefit of nivolumab plus ipilimumab compared to single agent ICI has been demonstrated in advanced renal cell cancer, MSI-hi/dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, and non-small cell, EGFR/ALK wild type lung cancer.

    “Evidence for benefit of nivolumab plus ipilimumab compared to single agent ICI has also been demonstrated in patients with advanced renal cell cancer, microsatellite high/deficient mismatch repair (MSI-hi/dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer12,14,15, hepatocellular carcinoma16, and non-small cell, EGFR/ALK wild type lung cancer17–19.”

    From A Phase I/II Trial of Nivolumab plus Ipilimumab in Children and Young Adults with Relapsed/Refractory Solid Tumors: A Children's Oncology Group Study ADVL1412 (2022) · cites this paper as [12]

    The Trial Design and Treatment and Survival Outcomes sections report comparisons in advanced melanoma, not in the four cancers named in the claim. Searches for renal, colorectal, hepatocellular, and EGFR/ALK-wild-type lung cancer did not find passages in our copy addressing the claimed benefit in those populations. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. [1]1. Khair DO, Bax HJ, Mele S, et al. Com- bining immune checkpoint inhibitors: es- tablished and emerging targets and strate- gies to improve outcomes in melanoma. Front Immunol 2019; 10: 453.
  2. [2]2. Larkin J, Chiarion-Sileni V, Gonzalez R, et al. Combined nivolumab and ipilimu- mab or monotherapy in untreated mela- noma. N Engl J Med 2015; 373: 23-34.
  3. [10]10. Dolan P. Modeling valuations for EuroQol health states. Med Care 1997; 35: 1095-108.

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Authors
Larkin, J., Chiarion-Sileni, V., Gonzalez, R., Grob, J.-J., Rutkowski, P., Lao, C. D., Cowey, C. L., Schadendorf, D., Wagstaff, J., Dummer, R., Ferrucci, P. F., Smylie, M., Hogg, D., Hill, A., Márquez-Rodas, I., Haanen, J., Guidoboni, M., Maio, M., Schöffski, P., Carlino, M. S., Lebbé, C., McArthur, G., Ascierto, P. A., Daniels, G. A., Long, G. V., Bastholt, L., Rizzo, J. I., Balogh, A., Moshyk, A., Hodi, F. S., & Wolchok, J. D.
Affiliations
  • Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust (GB)
  • From the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London (J.L.), and the College of Medicine, Swansea University, Swansea (J.W.) — both in the United Kingdom; the Oncology Institute of Veneto IRCCS, Padua (V.C.-S.), the European Institute of Oncology, IRCCS, Milan (P.F.F.), Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Fondazione Pascale, Naples (P.A.A.), the Immunotherapy and Somatic Cell Therapy Unit, IRCCS Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Meldola (M.G.), and the Center for Immuno...
  • University of Siena (IT)
  • The University of Sydney (AU)
Venue
New England Journal of Medicine
Published
2019-10-17
Volume
381
Issue
16
Pages
1535-1546
ISSN
  • 0028-4793 (ISSN-L)
  • 1533-4406
OpenAlex
W3043703771
Cited by
3,723
References
14
Citations by year
2026: 257 · 2025: 366 · 2024: 560 · 2023: 656 · 2022: 693 · 2021: 712 · 2020: 453 · 2019: 18 · 2017: 1 · 2013: 1
FWCI
195.72
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • New England Journal of Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
  • University of Southern Denmark Research Portal (University of Southern Denmark) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Universitätsbibliographie, Universität Duisburg-Essen (submittedVersion)
  • Lirias (submittedVersion)
  • Institutional Research Information System University of Ferrara (University of Ferrara) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Use Siena air (University of Siena) (submittedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
Funders
  • Amgen
  • Bristol-Myers Squibb
  • Eli Lilly and Company
  • Pfizer
  • AstraZeneca
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • Sanofi
  • Array BioPharma
  • Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
  • Massachusetts Medical Society
  • Les Laboratories Pierre Fabre
  • Incyte
  • Syndax Pharmaceuticals
  • National Institute for Health and Care Research
  • Eisai
  • Ipsen
  • Plexxikon
  • EUSA Pharma
  • LEO Pharma
  • Genentech
  • EMD Serono
  • Sanofi Genzyme
  • Pharmacyclics
  • National Cancer Institute (P30CA008748)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer Immunotherapy and Biomarkers
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cutaneous Melanoma Detection and Management
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Melanoma and MAPK Pathways
Keywords
ipilimumab, advanced melanoma, combination immunotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, five-year survival, overall survival, progression-free survival, long-term outcomes, health-related quality of life, CheckMate 067, PD-1 inhibitors, CTLA-4 inhibitors, immune-related adverse events

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