Dr. Andre on Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab in dMMR/MSI-H mCRC

Thierry Andre, MD, professor of medical oncology, University Pierre et Marie Curie (UMPC), and Head of the Medical Oncology Department in St. Antoine Hospital, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, discusses the results of the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) in patients with DNA mismatch repair-deficient/microsatellite instability-high (dMMR/MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

In the first report of the full cohort from the CheckMate-142 study at the 2018 Gastrointestinal Cancer Symposium, investigators conclude that the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab built on the efficacy reported with nivolumab monotherapy. This resulted in enhanced clinical benefit with a manageable safety profile.

Patients on the study received nivolumab at 3 mg/kg and ipilimumab at 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks for 4 doses followed by nivolumab monotherapy at 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks.

Of 119 patients with dMMR/MSI-H mCRC, the overall response rate was 55% and disease control rate was 80% at 12 weeks, says Andre. Additionally, the 9-month progression-free survival was 76%, and the overall response rate was 87%. This combination may represent a new standard of care for this population of patients.