A long-term study has found the immunotherapy drugs ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo), used alone or in combination, can significantly extend life expectancy for some people with advanced melanoma. “There is now a potential for cure in patients responsive to these treatments,” said Dr. James Larkin of the Royal Marsden Hospital in London in a press release.

Nivolumab and ipilimumab are both immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), drugs that help the immune system detect and fight cancer. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2011, ipilimumab blocks CTLA-4, a protein that dampens immune responses. Nivolumab, approved in 2024, targets PD-1, a protein that allows cancer cells to hide from the immune system.

The study, which began in 2013, randomly assigned participants to receive nivolumab, ipilimumab, or a combination of the two. Ten years later, researchers calculated the survival rates among study participants. Among their findings:

• Participants who received the combo treatment lived a median of 71.9 months (almost six years).
• Those who received only nivolumab lived a median of 36.9 months.
• Those who received only ipilimumab lived a median of 19.9 months.

Additionally, researchers studied participants whose cancer didn’t worsen in the first three years of taking the ICI treatment to see how many of them lived at least 10 years. For those whose cancer had been progression-free in the first three years of treatment, 10-year overall survival rates were:

• 96 percent with the combination therapy
• 97 percent with nivolumab alone
• 88 percent with ipilimumab alone

A Potential Turning Point

The results of this study could mark a turning point in treating advanced melanoma, a cancer often resistant to traditional therapies. Stage 4 melanoma is considered difficult to cure, but over the past 20 years, five-year survival rates have doubled. This is thanks in part to the introduction of new treatments, including ICIs and other immunotherapies.

If you’re living with advanced melanoma and have questions about your treatment options, speak with your oncologist. They can recommend the best approach to meet your treatment goals.

Learn about how treatment options change as melanoma progresses.

Find Your Team

On MyMelanomaTeam, the social network for people living with melanoma and their loved ones, members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with melanoma.

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