Abstract
BackgroundHigh dose interleukin-2 (HD IL-2) can induce durable responses in a subset of patients leading to long-term survival. Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has demonstrated similarly durable responses in a larger...
Highlights
High dose interleukin-2 (HD high dose interleukin-2 (IL-2)) can induce durable responses in a subset of patients leading to long-term survival
Patient characteristics A total of 328 patients were identified within the registry that fit the search criteria. 276 metastatic melanoma patients were treated with High dose interleukin-2 (HD IL-2) without prior immune checkpoint blockade
Fifty-two metastatic melanoma patients were treated with ipilimumab prior to IL-2
Summary
High dose interleukin-2 (HD IL-2) can induce durable responses in a subset of patients leading to long-term survival. Not all patients respond to immune checkpoint blockade and subsequent therapeutic options need to be explored. Since 2011, three novel immune checkpoint blockade agents have been approved for the treatment of advanced melanoma and are recommended among the first line options for treatment [1,2,3,4,5]. A key observation in the clinic is that lack of response to one immune checkpoint inhibitor class such as CTLA-4 blockade does not predict for Buchbinder et al Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer (2016) 4:52 lack of response to anti PD-1 therapy [3, 5]. The use of HD IL-2 therapy following immune checkpoint blockade, the impact on therapeutic response and potential toxicity, needs to be investigated further in the context of the rapidly changing field of immuno-oncology. There have been prior reports of colitis and bowel perforation in patients receiving IL-2 therapy following ipilimumab [8]
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