Nivolumab and ipilimumab are immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Nivolumab is capable of blocking the PD –1 protein found on T cells, and a ipilimumab is capable of blocking, the CTLA –4 protein.
Both inhibitors can help restore the natural ability of T cells to attack cancer cells.
The combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab may be effective second line therapy inpatient with PD – 1 blockade refractory, metastatic melanoma.
The combination has been approved for PD –L1. positive non-small cell lung cancer, and for renal carcinoma.
Nivolumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets the programmed death-1 (PD-1) receptor on T cells, thereby blocking its interaction with PD-L1 and PD-L2 ligands.
This inhibition enhances T-cell responses against cancer cells.
Nivolumab has been approved for the treatment of multiple cancers, including melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and others.
Ipilimumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), another checkpoint inhibitor on T cells.
By blocking CTLA-4, ipilimumab enhances T-cell activation and proliferation, promoting an anti-tumor immune response.
Ipilimumab is approved for the treatment of melanoma and has shown efficacy in combination with nivolumab for other cancers.
Among patients with respectable, microscopic stage III melanoma, neoadjuvant ipilimumab plus nivolumab followed by surgery and response driven adjuvant therapy resulted in longer event free survival than surgery followed by adjuvant nivolumab.
Progression free survival is longer with nivolumab plus ipilimumab than with chemotherapy among patients who had not previously received systemic treatment for MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colon cancer.