Immune therapy and quality of life in melanoma

May 13, 2017

Expert Critique

This article is relevant for the ever-changing practice of medical oncologists and use of checkpoint inhibitors in the clinic. It includes the major abstracts that lead to the approval of nivolumab and pembrolizumab for advanced melanoma with specific focus on quality of life and use of healthcare resources. 

Both of these issues are significant to our everyday practice as it becomes more and more evident that it is not only about prolonging survival, but there is also an expectation to at least maintenance of the quality of life and, if feasible, improvement. 

In comparison with regular cytotoxic chemotherapy, dacarbazine, nivolumab was not only more effective in regards to median overall survival but also demonstrated tolerability and improvement in QOL. Likewise pembrolizumab demonstrated being effective as a single agent or in combination with ipilimumab with improvement in functional scales and health status scores.

These two checkpoint inhibitors have been in the market for a short period of time, but will hopefully demonstrate similar results in regards to effectiveness, tolerability, and quality of life as data from clinical trials.

Source:

Rosa M Michel Ortego, MD, MedPage Today Article by Mark L. Fuerst, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today  https://www.medpagetoday.com/r...