Dr. Rizvi on the Implications of the CheckMate-227 Trial With Nivolumab/Ipilimumab in NSCLC

Naiyer A. Rizvi, MD, Price Family ​Professor of ​Medicine, director of Thoracic Oncology, and co-director of Cancer Immunotherapy at Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, of Columbia University Medical Center, as well as research director at the Price Family Comprehensive Center for Chest Care of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, discusses the clinical implications of the CheckMate-227 trial examining the use of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) in the treatment of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Data from the CheckMate-227 trial demonstrated that the combination elicited compelling responses, as well as an improvement in progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with NSCLC, according to Rizvi. In the trial, patients were administered 3 mg/kg of nivolumab every 2 weeks and 1 mg/kg of ipilimumab every 6 weeks. The combination was found to yield benefit across patients with varying degrees of PD-L1 expression, with some demonstrating deep responses, Rizvi explains.

Additionally, the combination appeared to be well tolerated, which is promising, according to Rizvi, as there is some concern with toxicities related to treatment with ipilimumab, particularly in patients who receive the 1-mg/kg dose, says Rizvi. The May 2020 FDA approval of nivolumab/ipilimumab for select patients with metastatic NSCLC represents a positive development in the NSCLC treatment paradigm, Rizvi concludes.