The Evolving Role of Immunotherapy in Metastatic Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer - Episode 4
Dr. Gandara on the Benefit of Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Plus Chemo in Metastatic NSCLC
David R. Gandara, MD, discusses the benefit of nivolumab and ipilimumab in combination with chemotherapy in metastatic non–small cell lung cancer.
David R. Gandara, MD, director of the Thoracic Oncology Program, professor, and senior advisor to the director of University of California Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, as well as a 2017 Giant of Cancer Care® in Lung Cancer, discusses the benefit of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) in combination with chemotherapy in metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The phase 3 CheckMate-9LA trial is examined the potential benefit of adding a short course of chemotherapy to nivolumab and ipilimumab, according to Gandara. The regimen demonstrated substantial benefit in this patient population. However, the main issue is that the study was published with a relatively short follow-up, adds Gandara.
Although the long-term impact of the combination on overall survival is not yet clear, there is a potential benefit of receiving at least 2 cycles of chemotherapy with the immunotherapy combination, says Gandara. With this regimen, it is possible to stop early disease progression from immunotherapy approaches such as nivolumab/ipilimumab or nivolumab monotherapy. It is also possible to prevent hyperprogressive disease, Gandara concludes.