Dr. Paz-Ares on Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Plus Chemotherapy in NSCLC

Luis G. Paz-Ares, MD, PhD, chair, the Medical Oncology Department, the Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, associate professor, the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, head, the Lung Cancer Unit, the National Oncology Research Center, discuses the importance of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) in the treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The phase 3 CheckMate-9LA trial (NCT03215706) evaluated nivolumab and ipilimumab with chemotherapy vs chemotherapy alone as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic NSCLC.

The combination regimen increased overall survival across most subsets of patients, irrespective of PD-L1 status and histology, Paz-Ares says. Data also showed benefits were observed in all subgroups in progression-free survival, overall response rate, and the duration of response with 2 courses of nivolumab/ ipilimumab plus chemotherapy compared with chemotherapy alone, Paz-Ares explains.

As a part of the study, a mutational analysis of patients was completed, including those with nonsquamous histology, Paz-Ares adds. Relevant mutations in NSCLC were not predictive of outcomes for treatment with nivolumab/ipilimumab plus chemotherapy vs chemotherapy alone, Paz-Ares concludes.