Durability of response in metastatic melanoma patients after combined treatment with radiation therapy and ipilimumab

Quaovi H Sodji; Paulina M Gutkin; Susan M Swetter; Sunil A Reddy; Susan M Hiniker; Susan J Knox

doi:10.2217/mmt-2019-0020

Durability of response in metastatic melanoma patients after combined treatment with radiation therapy and ipilimumab

Melanoma Manag. 2020 Feb 12;7(1):MMT36. doi: 10.2217/mmt-2019-0020.

Authors

Quaovi H Sodji^{1

2}, Paulina M Gutkin¹, Susan M Swetter^{3

4}, Sunil A Reddy⁵, Susan M Hiniker^{1

2}, Susan J Knox^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiation Oncology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
² Stanford Cancer Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
³ Department of Dermatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
⁴ Dermatology Service, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
⁵ Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.

Abstract

Aim: We previously reported a prospective trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of combining ipilimumab and radiation therapy in patients with metastatic melanoma. Herein, we provide a long-term update on patients with complete response (CR) or partial response (PR).

Patients & methods: We continued to follow these patients with serial imaging including computed tomography, PET or MRI.

Results: Two of the three patients with CR are still alive and without evidence of melanoma but with chronic treatment-induced hypophysitis. The third patient died of hepatocellular carcinoma, but with no evidence of melanoma. Among the three patients with PR, two achieved CR after pembrolizumab monotherapy.

Conclusion: This long-term follow up reveals the striking durability of the CRs, which appears to correlate with a grade 2-3 hypophysitis.

Keywords: hypophysitis; immunotherapy; melanoma; radiation therapy.