20 Facts You Should Know About Immunotherapy Treatment

FACT #11:Immunotherapy achieved a groundbreaking milestone by extending the lives of patients with advanced melanoma.

When melanoma had spread to other organs, treatment options were limited. However, a groundbreaking discovery about the immune checkpoint CTLA-4 led to the development of ipilimumab, an anti-CTLA-4 checkpoint immunotherapy, which became the first treatment to demonstrate increased survival in metastatic melanoma patients through a clinical trial.

Since ipilimumab's FDA approval in 2011, other immunotherapies have been approved for melanoma, including anti-PD-1 checkpoint immunotherapies like pembrolizumab and nivolumab, as well as the oncolytic virus T-Vec. The FDA has also approved a combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab for melanoma.

Numerous patients have experienced more quality time with their families thanks to this combination immunotherapy treatment.