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Combination treatment for metastatic melanoma results in longer overall survival

Date:
November 4, 2014
Source:
The JAMA Network Journals
Summary:
Among patients with metastatic melanoma, treatment with a combination of the drugs sargramostim plus ipilimumab, compared with ipilimumab alone, resulted in longer overall survival and lower toxicity, but no difference in progression-free survival, according to a study.
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Among patients with metastatic melanoma, treatment with a combination of the drugs sargramostim plus ipilimumab, compared with ipilimumab alone, resulted in longer overall survival and lower toxicity, but no difference in progression-free survival, according to a study in the November 5 issue of JAMA.

F. Stephen Hodi, M.D., of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and colleagues conducted a phase 2 clinical trial in which 245 patients with unresectable (unable to be removed by surgery) stage Ill or IV melanoma were randomly assigned to receive ipilimumab (intravenously) on day 1 plus sargramostim (injected beneath the skin) on days 1 to 14 of a 21-day cycle (n = 123) or ipilimumab alone (n = 122). The researchers compared the effect of these treatments on length of overall survival, progression-free survival, response rate, safety, and tolerability.

Median follow-up was 13.3 months. The overall survival was significantly improved with the addition of sargramostim to ipilimumab. The median overall survival was 17.5 months for the ipilimumab plus sargramostim group and 12.7 months for the ipilimumab-only group. The 1-year overall survival was 68.9 percent for the combination treatment group and 52.9 percent for the ipilimumab-only group. There was no difference in progression-free survival. Adverse events were more common in the ipilimumab-only group. Toxicity was significantly lower in the ipilimumab plus sargramostim group than in the ipilimumab­only group.

"This randomized phase 2 study supports the evidence that the addition of sargramostim to ipilimumab therapy improved overall survival in patients with metastatic melanoma," the authors write. "These findings require confirmation in larger sample sizes and with longer follow-up."


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Materials provided by The JAMA Network Journals. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. F. Stephen Hodi, Sandra Lee, David F. McDermott, Uma N. Rao, Lisa H. Butterfield, Ahmad A. Tarhini, Philip Leming, Igor Puzanov, Donghoon Shin, John M. Kirkwood. Ipilimumab Plus Sargramostim vs Ipilimumab Alone for Treatment of Metastatic Melanoma. JAMA, 2014; 312 (17): 1744 DOI: 10.1001/jama.2014.13943

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The JAMA Network Journals. "Combination treatment for metastatic melanoma results in longer overall survival." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 November 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141104163019.htm>.
The JAMA Network Journals. (2014, November 4). Combination treatment for metastatic melanoma results in longer overall survival. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 10, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141104163019.htm
The JAMA Network Journals. "Combination treatment for metastatic melanoma results in longer overall survival." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141104163019.htm (accessed October 10, 2024).

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