Immunotherapy with Yervoy for melanoma

What's exciting about Yervoy?

Yervoy is a new drug by Bristol-Myers Squibb now available to treat late-stage (metastatic) melanoma patients (read more). In clinical trials, Yervoy showed impressive results -- patients who received Yervoy lived an average of about 10 months as compared to an average of 6.5 months without the drug. Yervoy changes the body's immune system though inhibition of CTLA-4, a negative regulator of T cell function -- the immune system is known to play a role in melanoma progression and control.

What are its side effects?

The most common side effects are immune-related and include fatigue, diarrhea, colitis, injection-site reactions, and inflammation of the pituitary (that required hormone-replaced therapy). Severe to fatal autoimmune reactions were seen in 12.9 percent of patients treated with Yervoy. When severe side effects occurred, Yervoy was stopped and corticosteroid treatment was started. Not all patients responded to this treatment. Patients who did respond in some cases did not see any improvement for several weeks.

How can I get access to Yervoy?

Yervoy was approved by the FDA for melanoma in March 2011 -- your doctor can prescribe it for you. In addition, several clinical trials are testing whether combinations of Yervoy with other drugs may be better than Yervoy alone. The table below lists several of these clinical trials, and by clicking on the name of a trial you can learn more about the drug used and the types of patients that the trial is looking for.