Further survival data has been released from the phase 3 CheckMate-214 study, showing that treatment with a combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) continued to demonstrate long-term survival benefits in patients with previously untreated advanced/metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after 30 months follow-up.

Patients with intermediate- and poor-risk untreated RCC treated with the nivolumab/ipilimumab combination continued to show a significant overall survival (OS) benefit (30-month overall survival: 60%) compared to patients on sunitinib (30-month overall survival: 47%).

Also, the objective response rate (ORR) for patients on the combination treatment improved compared to the previous analysis, with more than half (52%) of patients on the combination having a response that lasted at least 18 months, versus 28% for those on sunitinib.

Complete responders were also higher for the combination at 30 months, being 11% versus 1% for sunitinib.

“The results from this 30-month follow-up from the CheckMate -214 study are meaningful as they continue to demonstrate that in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, a population with considerable unmet treatment needs, there is potential for long-term survival benefits with the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab,” said CheckMate-214 investigator Dr Nizar M. Tannir from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA.

Read the BMS press release here