Brain metastases are a frequent problem in patients with melanoma. Up to 50% of patients with unresectable metastatic melanoma will develop brain metastases during their lifetime with a median overall survival of 4 months. Surgical removal or stereotactic radiosurgery of brain metastases can improve overall survival in patients with a limited number of lesions, usually in the range of one to three brain metastases depending on neuroanatomical localization. This benefit is no longer present when considering patients with > 3 brain metastases. As cytotoxic chemotherapy and multiple chemotherapeutic agents show only limited activity in > 3 brain metastases patients, immune checkpoint inhibitors such as ipilimumab and nivolumab offer new opportunities to improve disease outcomes for these patients.~This open label phase II study evaluates safety and efficacy of combined treatment with ipilimumab and nivolumab in patients with stage IV melanoma with four or more symptomatic brain metastases, who are not eligible for surgery or radiosurgery.
Up to 50% of patients with unresectable metastatic melanoma will develop brain metastases during their lifetime. A possible treatment options for patients with brain metastases are surgery and radiotherapy but usually for lesions in the range of < 3 brain metastases. This study was performed to evaluate the addition of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with stage IV melanoma with > 3 symptomatic brain metastases, who are not eligible for surgery or radiosurgery.