In a groundbreaking study presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology congress, the immunotherapy drug nivolumab has been described as a potential "game-changer" for cancer treatment. The study focused on patients with advanced head and neck cancer, showing that 36% of those treated with nivolumab were alive after one year, compared to only 17% of those who received chemotherapy. Notably, patients experienced fewer side effects from immunotherapy, and the benefits were especially pronounced in patients whose tumors tested positive for HPV, with these patients surviving an average of 9.1 months with nivolumab versus 4.4 months with chemotherapy.
Another study involving 94 patients with advanced kidney cancer revealed that combining nivolumab with another drug, ipilimumab, resulted in a significant reduction in tumor size for 40% of patients, with one in 10 showing no sign of cancer remaining. This is a stark contrast to the 5% of patients who showed tumor reduction after standard therapy.
Peter Waite, a 64-year-old from Hertfordshire, shared his positive experience with combined immunotherapy after being diagnosed with a type of renal cancer. Despite the grim prognosis, Waite experienced virtually no side effects and was able to continue working throughout his treatment. Scans showed that one of his tumors had shrunk, and two others had not grown further.
Prof Kevin Harrington of the Institute of Cancer Research and consultant at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, who led the head and neck cancer trial, emphasized the significance of these findings, stating that nivolumab could greatly extend life among patients with no existing treatment options, without worsening their quality of life. Prof Paul Workman, chief executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, also highlighted the importance of nivolumab as part of a new wave of immunotherapies making an impact across cancer treatment, urging regulators to expedite its availability to patients in need.
