MesotheliomaHelp has reported numerous times on the benefits immunotherapy has shown in mesothelioma and lung cancer patients. The newest treatment has been touted as bringing “spectacular” results to some cancer patients. Now, researchers report, even in lung cancer patients with metastases, one anti-cancer immunotherapy drug offered extended overall survival benefit over chemotherapy.
Study results of long-term data from the Checkmate clinical trials of lung cancer patients who used Opdivo (nivolumab), an anti-cancer immunotherapy drug developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, showed after more than three years, 40 months, the overall survival (OS) rate was 17% with nivolumab, compared with just 8% for docetaxel patients, according to a Feb. 7 article in Cancer Network. In addition, patients with advanced stage lung cancer with liver metastasis also had improved OS when given nivolumab.
“These updated analyses from CheckMate 017 and CheckMate 057 demonstrate long-term clinical benefit with nivolumab in previously treated patients with advanced squamous and non-squamous NSCLC, including those with liver metastases,” the authors concluded.
In 2015, researchers reported that the Phase III clinical trial, known as Checkmate 057 that compared the overall survival of non-small cell lung cancer patients with recurring cancer after receiving either nivolumab or docetaxel, showed greater efficacy in the nivolumab group. The patients who received the immunotherapy realized a three month OS advantage over the chemotherapy patients.
Read More About Opdivo’s Benefits here and here.
Opdivo, developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, is an anti-cancer immunotherapy drug that targets a specific biomarker in order to combat the disease. The treatment works by blocking the PD-L1 protein and activating the immune system, leading it to attack and kill cancer cells.
The drug was approved in 2015 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer for patients whose disease progressed during or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Last week, Bristol-Myers Squibb announced the FDA approved a 4-week dosing regimen as opposed to the previous required 2-week regimen.
“With this approval, we now offer the most robust range of dosing options for an Immuno-Oncology medicine, providing enhanced flexibility to help address each patient’s specific needs,” said Johanna Mercier, head, U.S. Commercial, Bristol-Myers Squibb.
These successes with immunotherapy over chemotherapy have some oncologists looking more closely at the appropriate treatment for mesothelioma. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, talk to your oncologist to determine the best treatment for you.
See the full results of the study in the Feb. 2 issue of Annals of Oncology.
The post Mesothelioma Patients Hopeful As Opdivo Continues to Outperform Chemotherapy in Studies appeared first on MesotheliomaHelp.org Cancer Organization.
from Blog – MesotheliomaHelp.org Cancer Organization http://ift.tt/2DBK26V
via IFTTT
No comments: