Ipilimumab plus Dacarbazine for Previously Untreated Metastatic Melanoma

Ipilimumab has been shown to improve survival in patients with previously treated metastatic melanoma. In this study, ipilimumab plus dacarbazine improved survival in patients with previously untreated metastatic melanoma. The survival rate for patients with metastatic melanoma is low, with an expected 2-year survival rate of 10 to 20%. 1 – 3 Although dacarbazine has never been shown to improve survival in randomized, controlled studies, it has been the drug most frequently compared with new agents or combination therapies in randomized trials involving patients with melanoma. 4 , 5 High-dose interleukin-2 is associated with durable, complete responses, with a survival benefit, in a small subgroup of patients with metastatic melanoma. 6 , 7 Ipilimumab, a fully human, IgG1 monoclonal antibody, blocks cytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4), a negative regulator of T cells, and thereby augments . . .