Melanoma Treated By Immunotherapy Leaves a Hole in the Patient’s Chest

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The New England Journal of Medicine

A rare case of rapid eradication of melanoma in a 49-year-old

The FDA has approved Ipilimumab and Nivolumab for the treatment of Melanoma. However, the aim of this clinical trial was to assess the combined action of these drugs in treating such patients.


The researchers gave 142 metastatic melanoma patients the combination of Ipilimumab and Nivolumab to assess its efficacy and side effects. However, they gave the control group one of the two drugs combined with a placebo. Both these medications are administered as part of immunotherapy. This treatment regimen aims to strengthen the body’s immune system to be able to fight against cancer cells.

The researchers concluded that the combination of the two drugs was more efficient in curing melanoma as compared to the control group that got only a single drug. About 53% of patients showed a decrease in the size of the tumour by 80%.

Melanoma: Unusual Magnitude of Recovery

Out of all the participants in the research, the results of one was very unusual. When compared to the other subjects, she displayed a rapid response to the drug combination in just three weeks. However, the high intensity of the effects led to a hole in the chest where the melanoma was present.

What was unusual was the magnitude [of recovery], and how quickly it happened,”

SAID THE REPORT’S LEAD AUTHOR, DR. PAUL CHAPMAN, AN ATTENDING PHYSICIAN AND HEAD OF THE MELANOMA SECTION AT THE MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER IN NEW YORK.

Since a rapid response to the drugs was unprecedented, the doctors monitored the woman closely after the treatment. However, she did not have any further side effects, despite the risk associated with the drug combination.

“I’d never seen anything like that. the tumor had just kind of dissolved.”

DR. PAUL CHAPMAN

Conclusion and Prospect

The combination of Ipilimumab and Nivolumab requires more clinical trials to know whether its use is beneficial in treating melanoma, in contrast to mono-therapy.

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