Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck announced the positive results of two major immunotherapies

Immunotherapy has become the fifth pillar therapy for cancer treatment besides surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Opdivo first-line combination therapy

Esophageal cancer is the sixth leading cause of cancer deaths in the world, and China is a country with a high incidence of esophageal cancer.

Today, Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that its PD-1 inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab, nivolumab), combined with chemotherapy or chemotherapy + anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody Yervoy, as a first-line therapy in the treatment of unresectable advanced or The primary endpoint was reached in a phase 3 clinical trial in patients with metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Interim results analysis showed that the combination of Opdivo and chemotherapy significantly prolonged the overall survival (OS) of patients compared with chemotherapy.

Opdivo combined with chemotherapy and Yervoy also significantly prolonged the overall survival of patients.

Previously, the combination therapy of Opdivo and chemotherapy has obtained positive results in first-line clinical trials for patients with gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer or esophageal adenocarcinoma, reducing the risk of death by 20%.

In addition, Opdivo, as an adjuvant therapy, doubled the patient's disease-free survival when treating patients with early esophageal cancer and GEJ cancer undergoing surgical resection.

Merck's PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda

Renal cell carcinoma is the most common kidney cancer, accounting for 90% of the total number of kidney cancers.

Merck’s PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda has been approved by the FDA for the first-line treatment of renal cell carcinoma in combination with chemotherapy.

According to an interim analysis by the Independent Data Review Board, Keytruda significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with renal cell carcinoma who had undergone total nephrectomy or renal and metastatic lesions compared with placebo.

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Reference materials:

[1] Bristol Myers Squibb Announces Opdivo (nivolumab) plus Chemotherapy and Opdivo plus Yervoy (ipilimumab) Demonstrate Superior Survival Benefit Compared to Chemotherapy in Unresectable Advanced or Metastatic Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

[2] Merck's KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Demonstrated Superior Disease-Free Survival (DFS) Compared With Placebo as Adjuvant Therapy in Patients With Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) Following Surgery.