Decade-Long Clinical Outcome & Safety of Nivolumab Treatment in Advanced Melanoma
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Reviewed & Translated by Dat Tien Nguyen, B.A, ScM.
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Posted on March 2nd, 2026
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After extensive testing, it has been found that nivolumab is an effective treatment for advanced-stage melanoma. When compared with other immunotherapy, nivolumab had also proven to be superior. A long-term surveillance study on the clinical outcome of nivolumab on melanoma had recently been published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Funding Source(s): Bristol Myers Squibb & Ono Pharmaceutical
The clinical study included 906 participants who had been diagnosed with stage III and IV melanoma. The participants were randomly assigned to be treated for 1 year with either nivolumab or ipilimumab. Nivolumab was given every 2 weeks at a dose of 3 mg per kilogram of body weight. While, ipilimumab was given at a dose of 10 mg per kilogram every 3 weeks for four doses; then the dose frequency is reduced to every 12 weeks. Both treatments are immunotherapy that reduce cancer proliferation by negating the immune evasion mechanism of the tumor. Nivolumab does so by binding to PD-1 receptor on T-cell, and ipilimumab functions by targeting CTLA-4.
After a minimum follow-up period of 9 years, the researchers found that nivolumab was superior at delaying disease recurrence by a median duration of 61.1 months; while the duration is only 24.2 months for those treated with ipilimumab. Additionally, metastases were less likely in patients treated with nivolumab. Assessment of adverse events found that there are no new long-term side effects associated with either nivolumab or ipilimumab.
Funding Source(s): Bristol Myers Squibb & Ono Pharmaceutical
The clinical study included 906 participants who had been diagnosed with stage III and IV melanoma. The participants were randomly assigned to be treated for 1 year with either nivolumab or ipilimumab. Nivolumab was given every 2 weeks at a dose of 3 mg per kilogram of body weight. While, ipilimumab was given at a dose of 10 mg per kilogram every 3 weeks for four doses; then the dose frequency is reduced to every 12 weeks. Both treatments are immunotherapy that reduce cancer proliferation by negating the immune evasion mechanism of the tumor. Nivolumab does so by binding to PD-1 receptor on T-cell, and ipilimumab functions by targeting CTLA-4.
After a minimum follow-up period of 9 years, the researchers found that nivolumab was superior at delaying disease recurrence by a median duration of 61.1 months; while the duration is only 24.2 months for those treated with ipilimumab. Additionally, metastases were less likely in patients treated with nivolumab. Assessment of adverse events found that there are no new long-term side effects associated with either nivolumab or ipilimumab.