Dr. Tawbi on the Safety Profile of Relatlimab Plus Nivolumab in Advanced Melanoma

Hussein A. Tawbi, MD, PhD, deputy chair, professor, director of melanoma clinical research and early drug development, director of personalized cancer therapy, Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the safety profile of relatlimab plus nivolumab (Opdivo) in advanced melanoma.

The primary results of the ongoing, phase 3 RELATIVITY-047 trial (NCT03470922), which were presented during the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting, demonstrated a more than doubled progression-free survival with the fixed-dose, first-line combination of relatlimab plus nivolumab vs nivolumab alone in patients with advanced melanoma.

Regarding safety, grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse effects (TRAEs) were observed in 18.9% of patients who received the combination vs 9.7% of patients who received the single agent, suggesting that the addition of relatlimab to nivolumab does not elicit significantly more toxicity compared with nivolumab alone, says Tawbi. As such, this regimen could offer patients with advanced melanoma a highly efficacious regimen without unacceptable toxicity, concludes Tawbi.