Skip to main content
  • Advertise
    Want to Advertise with Us?
    Conquer welcomes advertising and sponsorship collaborations with reputable companies offering high-quality products and services to people affected by cancer.
  • Affiliated Brands
    Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators
    The Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN+) is the largest national specialty organization dedicated to improving patient care and quality of life by defining, enhancing, and promoting the role of oncology nurse and patient navigators. Our organization of over 8,900 members was founded in May 2009 to provide a network for all professionals involved and interested in patient navigation and survivorship care services to better manage the complexities of the cancer care treatment continuum for their patients. We view our organization as one consisting of “professional patient advocates” and, to that end, we support and serve our members.
    Journal of Oncology Navigation & Survivorship
    The Journal of Oncology Navigation & Survivorship (JONS) promotes reliance on evidence-based practices in navigating patients with cancer and their caregivers through diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. JONS also seeks to strengthen the role of nurse and patient navigators in cancer care by serving as a platform for these professionals to disseminate original research findings, exchange best practices, and find support for their growing community.
    The Oncology Nurse-APN/PA
    The Oncology Nurse-APN/PA (TON) provides coverage of the wide spectrum of oncology-related events, trends, news, therapeutics, diagnostics, organizations, and legislation that directly affect hematology/oncology nurses and advanced practitioners involved in healthcare delivery and product utilization. The scope and coverage include a unique presentation of news and events that are shaping the care of patients with cancer.
  • Healthcare Providers
  • Contribute

Combination Immunotherapy with Opdivo and Yervoy in Patients with Advanced Biliary Tract Cancer

ASCO 2020 Highlights

The combination of the PD-1 inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab) and the CTLA-4 inhibitor Yervoy (ipilimumab) has been effective therapy for some types of solid tumor cancers, such as melanoma and lung cancer. In the clinical trial reported at the 2020 ASCO annual meeting, researchers evaluated the effectiveness of these 2 immunotherapies together in patients with metastatic (spreading) cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). The study’s lead author was Oliver Klein, FRACP, MD, Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Heidelberg, Australia.

Patients received this combination every 3 weeks for 4 doses, then every 2 weeks for up to 96 weeks, until disease progression or unacceptable side effects. A total of 85% of the patients had received at least 1 previous line of chemotherapy. None of the patients who had a response to therapy had tumors with microsatellite instability, a type of genetic alteration.

Among all the patients, 24% had a complete response (no sign of cancer) or a partial response to therapy, and 44% of the patients had either tumor shrinkage or stable disease.

The duration of the response to therapy ranged from 2 months to more than 26 months, and the average duration of response was not yet reached by the time of this report. Responses to the combination therapy were seen in 31% of patients with intrahepatic CCA, 10% of patients with extrahepatic CCA, and 31% of patients with gallbladder cancer.

In addition, 2 patients who had a partial response to therapy subsequently had surgery to remove the tumor and were rendered free of disease. The average time of survival without disease progression (getting worse) was 2.9 months, and the overall survival was 5.7 months.

A total of 56% of patients had immune-related side effects, and 17% of patients had serious (grade 3 or 4) side effects.

The researchers concluded that the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab was significantly beneficial to patients with microsatellite-stable tumors.

Recommended For You