Can Nivolumab cure cancer?

As a systemic cancer treatment, immunotherapy is effective in fighting metastatic cancer, which has spread from the original tumor to other areas. Nivolumab, which helps shrink tumors, helps patients with advanced melanoma live longer and reduces the risk of melanoma coming back after surgery, is also approved for adjuvant treatment. Nivolumab alone was studied in two major studies in adults with advanced melanoma who did not undergo surgery.

The first study, involving 418 patients with previously untreated advanced melanoma, found that those who received nivolumab lived longer than those who received the cancer drug dacarbazine: 73% of those who received nivolumab were alive after 12 months, compared with 42% of those who received dacarbazine. In the second study, 405 patients with advanced melanoma whose disease progressed despite prior cancer drug treatment were followed for at least six months. About 32% of patients who received nivolumab responded to the treatment with tumor shrinkage, compared with about 11% of patients who received physician's choice treatment (dacarbazine or a combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel).

The third study compared nivolumab with ipilimumab in 906 adults with stage IIIB, IIIC or IV melanoma who had surgery and were at high risk for cancer recurrence. Patients who received nivolumab lived an average of 31 months before their cancer came back, developed new melanoma, or died, while those who received ipilimumab lived an average of 24 months. Patients who received nivolumab plus ipilimumab survived 11.5 months without disease progression, compared with 6.9 months for those who received nivolumab alone and 2.9 months for those who received ipilimumab alone. More patients were alive after 2 years with the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab (64%) than with nivolumab alone (59%) or ipilimumab alone (45%). The study included patients whose cancer cells produced high levels of PD-L1 as well as patients whose cancer cells produced low levels of PD-L1. Improvements in survival time without disease progression in patients treated with nivolumab and ipilimumab compared with nivolumab alone were seen only in patients whose cancer cells produced low levels of PD-L1.

The original drug nivolumab is currently on the market in China, but it has not yet been included in medical insurance. This drug is a strictly controlled drug, and its purchase channels are restricted. The price of each box of 40mg/4ml may be around 4,000 yuan. The Turkish version of the nivolumab generic drug listed overseas may cost more than RMB 2,000 per box of 40mg/4ml (the price may fluctuate due to exchange rates). Currently, there is no generic version of nivolumab available on the market. For more drug information and specific prices, please consult a medical consultant.