Efficacy Study of Nivolumab Compared to Ipilimumab in Prevention of Recurrence of Melanoma After Complete Resection of Stage IIIb/c or Stage IV Melanoma

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether nivolumab is better than ipilimumab to prevent recurrence of melanoma.

Timeline

Start

2015-03-16

Primary completion

2018-11-26

Completion

2024-10-16

Outcome

Met primary endpoint

registry analysis (superiority test); Nivolumab 3 mg/kg vs Ipilimumab 10 mg/kg; p = 0.0003; Hazard Ratio (HR) 0.71 (95% CI 0.60 to 0.86); Log Rank NCT02388906 ↗

Publications

• Ascierto PA, Del Vecchio M, Merelli B, Gogas H, Arance AM, Dalle S, Cowey CL, Schenker M, Gaudy-Marqueste C, Pigozzo J, Marquez-Rodas I, Butler MO, Di Giacomo AM, Gligich O, De La Cruz-Merino L, Arenberger P, Atkinson V, Nathan P, Hill A, Millward M, Fecher LA, Khushalani NI, Queirolo P, Soomro R, Rathod D, Askelson M, Pe Benito M, Joseph D, Larkin J. Nivolumab for Resected Stage III or IV Melanoma at 9 Years. N Engl J Med. 2026 Jan 22;394(4):333-342. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2504966. Epub 2025 Oct 18.
• Weber JS, Middleton MR, Yates G, Sharpe DJ, Kurt M, Lobo M, Moshyk A, Vanderpuye-Orgle J, Mohr P. Estimating Long-Term Survivorship Rates Among Patients With Resected Stage III/IV Melanoma: Analyses From CheckMate 238 and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer 18071 Trials. J Clin Oncol. 2025 Mar 10;43(8):929-937. doi: 10.1200/JCO.24.00237. Epub 2024 Oct 8.
• Weber J, Del Vecchio M, Mandala M, Gogas H, Arance AM, Dalle S, Cowey CL, Schenker M, Grob JJ, Chiarion-Sileni V, Marquez-Rodas I, Butler MO, Di Giacomo AM, de la Cruz-Merino L, Arenberger P, Atkinson V, Hill A, Fecher LA, Millward M, Khushalani NI, Queirolo P, Long GV, Lobo M, Askelson M, Ascierto PA, Larkin J. Outcomes With Postrecurrence Systemic Therapy Following Adjuvant Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment for Resected Melanoma in CheckMate 238. J Clin Oncol. 2024 Nov;42(31):3702-3712. doi: 10.1200/JCO.23.01448. Epub 2024 Aug 5.
• Larkin J, Weber J, Del Vecchio M, Gogas H, Arance AM, Dalle S, Cowey CL, Schenker M, Grob JJ, Chiarion-Sileni V, Marquez-Rodas I, Butler MO, Di Giacomo AM, Middleton MR, De la Cruz-Merino L, Arenberger P, Atkinson V, Hill A, Fecher LA, Millward M, Khushalani NI, Queirolo P, Long GV, Lobo M, Askelson M, Ascierto PA, Mandala M. Adjuvant nivolumab versus ipilimumab (CheckMate 238 trial): Reassessment of 4-year efficacy outcomes in patients with stage III melanoma per AJCC-8 staging criteria. Eur J Cancer. 2022 Sep;173:285-296. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2022.06.041. Epub 2022 Aug 11.
• Weber JS, Ascierto PA, Middleton MR, Hennicken D, Zoffoli R, Pieters A, Amadi A, Kupas K, Kotapati S, Moshyk A, Schadendorf D. Indirect treatment comparison of nivolumab versus placebo as adjuvant treatment for resected melanoma. Eur J Cancer. 2021 Nov;158:225-233. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2021.08.028. Epub 2021 Oct 15.
• Mandala M, Larkin J, Ascierto PA, Del Vecchio M, Gogas H, Cowey CL, Arance A, Dalle S, Schenker M, Grob JJ, Chiarion-Sileni V, Marquez-Rodas I, Butler MO, Di Giacomo AM, Lutzky J, De La Cruz-Merino L, Atkinson V, Arenberger P, Hill A, Fecher L, Millward M, Khushalani NI, de Pril V, Lobo M, Weber J. Adjuvant nivolumab for stage III/IV melanoma: evaluation of safety outcomes and association with recurrence-free survival. J Immunother Cancer. 2021 Aug;9(8):e003188. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2021-003188.
• Ascierto PA, Del Vecchio M, Mandala M, Gogas H, Arance AM, Dalle S, Cowey CL, Schenker M, Grob JJ, Chiarion-Sileni V, Marquez-Rodas I, Butler MO, Maio M, Middleton MR, de la Cruz-Merino L, Arenberger P, Atkinson V, Hill A, Fecher LA, Millward M, Khushalani NI, Queirolo P, Lobo M, de Pril V, Loffredo J, Larkin J, Weber J. Adjuvant nivolumab versus ipilimumab in resected stage IIIB-C and stage IV melanoma (CheckMate 238): 4-year results from a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2020 Nov;21(11):1465-1477. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(20)30494-0. Epub 2020 Sep 19.
• Weber J, Mandala M, Del Vecchio M, Gogas HJ, Arance AM, Cowey CL, Dalle S, Schenker M, Chiarion-Sileni V, Marquez-Rodas I, Grob JJ, Butler MO, Middleton MR, Maio M, Atkinson V, Queirolo P, Gonzalez R, Kudchadkar RR, Smylie M, Meyer N, Mortier L, Atkins MB, Long GV, Bhatia S, Lebbe C, Rutkowski P, Yokota K, Yamazaki N, Kim TM, de Pril V, Sabater J, Qureshi A, Larkin J, Ascierto PA; CheckMate 238 Collaborators. Adjuvant Nivolumab versus Ipilimumab in Resected Stage III or IV Melanoma. N Engl J Med. 2017 Nov 9;377(19):1824-1835. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1709030. Epub 2017 Sep 10.

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Indications