Dr. Sosman on the Mechanism of Action of Ipilimumab

Jeffrey A. Sosman, MD, professor of medicine, Director, Melanoma and Tumor Immunotherapy Program, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, describes the mechanism of action of ipilimumab in patients with melanoma.

Sosman says ipilimumab works by binding to the “brakes” of a T cell, which prohibits the T cell from turning off its immune response. Recent data also suggests that ipilumamab may play a role in eliminating one of the subsets of cells that are immune suppressive, Sosman says, suggesting that ipilumamab may have a more complicated role in melanoma treatment than researchers previously thought.

The unregulated activation of the T cells is what causes both the response and some of the toxicity, Sosman says.