Dr. Ferris on the Updated Data from CheckMate-141 in Head and Neck Cancer

Robert Ferris, MD, PhD, vice chair for Clinical Operations, associate director for Translational Research, and co-leader of the Cancer Immunology Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, discusses the updated findings from the CheckMate-141 trial in head and neck cancer.

CheckMate-141 is investigating nivolumab (Opdivo) versus investigator’s choice in patients with recurrent of metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The 2-year outcomes in the overall population and PD-L1 subgroups were presented during the 2018 AACR Annual Meeting.

Findings showed that nivolumab improved overall survival (OS) significantly versus investigator’s choice in the overall population. Median OS was 7.7 months (95% CI, 5.7-8.8) with nivolumab compared with 5.1 months (95% CI, 4.0-6.2) for investigator's choice of therapy (HR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54-0.86). The 2-year OS rate was 16.9% with nivolumab (95% CI, 12.4%-22.0%) versus 6% in the control arm (95% CI, 2.7%-11.3%). Additionally, the risk of death was reduced by 32% with the PD-1 inhibitor.