A combination immunotherapy has demonstrated the potential to cure a majority of patients with advanced melanoma that has spread to the brain, according to a seven-year follow-up from a clinical trial. The findings, published in The Lancet Oncology, indicate that more than 50% of patients who received combination immunotherapy as a first-line treatment achieved long-term disease control.

Currently, patients with melanoma brain metastases, which affect 30-40% of those with Stage 4 melanoma, have a median survival of approximately 16 weeks. However, the study suggests that combination immunotherapy could significantly improve outcomes.

Professor Georgina Long AO, Medical Director of Melanoma Institute Australia and lead author of the study, stated that the treatment led to an overall survival rate of 48%, increasing to 51% among patients who received it as an initial therapy.

“This proves we have achieved long-term disease control in this group of advanced melanoma patients,” Long said. “We are now confident these patients are cured, a term not used lightly in cancer. This combination immunotherapy should now become the standard of care for melanoma patients with brain metastases.”

The phase 2 trial, conducted between 2014 and 2017, included 79 patients. Among them, 36 received combination checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy (anti-PD-1 plus anti-CTLA-4), while 43 were treated with a single-agent immunotherapy (nivolumab).

After seven years of follow-up, the progression-free survival rate was 42% for those given ipilimumab plus nivolumab, compared to 15% for those on nivolumab alone. The overall survival rates were 48% and 26%, respectively.

Among patients who received the treatment upfront, the seven-year progression-free survival rate was 47% with combination immunotherapy and 14% with the single agent. The overall survival rates were 51% and 29%, respectively.

These findings support the use of combination immunotherapy as a primary treatment option for patients with melanoma brain metastases, potentially setting a new standard in cancer care.

–IANS