Stopping checkpoint inhibitors after remission OK in some metastatic melanomas

Most complete remissions remained durable after elective discontinuation of checkpoint inhibitor treatment in patients with metastatic melanomas, potentially decreasing the impact of drug toxicities and financial burden, according to a study.

This retrospective review included 132 checkpoint inhibitor-treated patients, 46 patients who underwent elective treatment discontinuation after 2 negative scans 3 months apart.

At 1 year and 3 years following treatment discontinuation, the progression-free survival was 97.5% and 94.7%, respectively. There was a median duration of follow-up of 26 months. Overall, 8.7% (4 out of 46) of those that discontinued treatment relapsed with a median time to relapse of 27 months.

Of the entire cohort, median disease-specific survival was not reached and was 100% at 4 years from the start of therapy.

There were 2 patient deaths, 1 from melanoma and 1 from an unrelated illness.

Reference
Perez L, Samlowski W, Lopez-Flores R. Outcome of Elective Checkpoint Inhibitor Discontinuation in Patients with Metastatic Melanoma Who Achieved a Complete Remission: Real-World Data. Biomedicines. 2022;10(5):1144. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10051144. PMID: 35625881.