On Sunday at the European Society for Medical Oncology in Madrid  have been presented. new results from a research funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb whose aim was to compare  two immunotherapy drugs used to prevent relapse in certain patients with advanced melanoma. 

The sudy involved 900 patients whose tumors were removed by surgery but who remained at high risk of recurrence of melanoma, an often aggressive form of skin cancer.

The trial compared Yervoy, the current standard postoperative treatment, with Opdivo, a newer drug. After a year of therapy, 71 percent of patients on Opdivo hadn’t had a recurrence, compared with 61 percent of those on Yervoy.

Given Opdivo’s superior safety and effectiveness profile, Weber said, the drug “could realistically become the new standard of care” for melanoma treatment after surgery. He also decribed the difference between the two drugs, both from Bristol-Myers Squibb, describing Opdivo as “a sniper rifle, much more directed,” and Yervoy as “more of a shotgun.”

Source: The Washington Post