Despite the best efforts of researchers, malignant pleural mesothelioma remains a terminal diagnosis. What science has been able to offer has been extended survival times, largely through the use of innovative immunotherapy treatments. Though clinical trials of the dual regimen of ipilimumab and nivolumab has promised improved outcomes, a recently published study has shown that real-world patients experienced higher levels of toxicity than that study reported.
CheckMate 743 Trial Reported Better Mesothelioma Results from Immunotherapy than Real-World Experience
A study published today in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology reports that a group of 119 Australian mesothelioma patients treated with the combination of
profiled in the CheckMate 743 trial experienced median overall survival of 14.5 months, with 24$ experiencing adverse events of greater than grade 3. The most frequently observed adverse event was colitis.
The study, called RIOMeso, is the first detailed report of real-world survival and toxicity outcomes in Australian mesothelioma patients using the protocol. Australian studies are particularly notable because the country has one of the highest rates of asbestos-associated diseases.
Mesothelioma Doctor Urges Caution in Interpreting Study Results
While the results from the RIOMeso study suggest that real-world use of the combination immunotherapy treatment may have poorer survival outcomes and be more toxic than clinical trial data, lead researcher Dr. Ned McNamee of The Kinghorn Cancer Centre & St. Vincent’s Hospital said that there is still survival benefit over the use of chemotherapy, and suggested more study is needed.
“There is certainly survival benefit of the Checkmate 743 regimen over chemotherapy, especially in the non-epithelioid group; however, perhaps there is more equipoise in epithelioid patients. Careful patient selection may mitigate some of the risk of toxicity, but our study demonstrates that the non-chemotherapy option is not necessarily less toxic.”
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, immunotherapy treatment offers great hope. For information on this and other findings, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
