Two I’s are better than one.

Immunotherapy moved the needle on treatment outcomes for metastatic cutaneous melanoma. So, shouldn’t it work well for uveal melanoma? Not so fast. Outcomes have been disappointing with single-agent immunotherapy for uveal melanoma. That may be because uveal melanomas have very little molecular resemblance to their cutaneous counterparts. For instance, uveal melanoma usually doesn’t harbor BRAF mutations and has a low mutational burden. This phase 2 study evaluated the efficacy of combination nivolumab and ipilimumab for patients with metastatic uveal melanoma. Among 33 patients, the overall response rate was 18%, and one of those responses was a complete response. As typically seen with immunotherapy, when response occurred it was often durable (median 12 months in responders). TBL: Combination nivolumab and ipilimumab has a response rate of 18% for patients with metastatic uveal melanoma, which compares favorably with single-agent immunotherapy. | Pelster, J Clin Oncol 2020