Nivolumab versus Interferon

I don't think there is much competition between those two.  I don't think Interferon has ever been shown to be effective in extending survival in melanoma.   Nivolumab, on the other hand, is showing great overall response rates and very impressive progression free survival rates, as well as providing some people with a complete response (taking them from active disease to NED status).  

Hi Lord K, being on Nivo is like going to Disney and staying at one of the all enclusive 5 star hotels and having the time of your life when compared to Interferon which was more like staying at some dive motel and developing Montezuma's revenge on the first day of a Mexican trip!!! On a serious note, I wouldn't wish Interferon on my worst enemy while Nivo in my experience has been not easy but manageable. From a stats point of view, I still haven't found any solid evidence of a survival benefit for Interferon except for a small group with ulcerated tumors and then only a very small % had an improvement in time to recurrence but not survival. Nivo 5 year survival data should be coming out this fall probable at ESMO and it will be very interesting to see how much of an improvement it will show over Ipi which is around 20%. Ipi shows a nice flattening in the survival curve than remains flat after 3 years, my hope is that the Nivo curve is similar but at a much higher%. Best Wishes!!!Ed 

I was IIIC and on Interferon for a few months before more in-transits appeared in my leg. The onc (complete rock star that he is) opted to keep in the in-transits (much to my dismay) and put me on the Ipi/nivo combo that had just been approved. I only got through 2 infusions before I had to stop due to gastritis/colitis/high liver enzymes. From all that I've heard, this was likely due to Ipi rather than Nivo, but in combo it's the power punch. I was sick as a dog after that second infusion, but that in-transit melted away like butter. NED for 2 years now. There's definately a chance of toxicity with Nivo…but if it kicks that ugly melanoma butt, it's worth it.

Lauren

It sounds like our situations were very similar. In 2014 I was diagnosed at stage IIIB and started Interferon I believe in April 2014. From the very first dose I was extremely sick and in a lot of pain. I don't even know how I made it home from the hospital the first day since I drove myself. During the first month of the IV phase my fever would go up to 102 something every time. Some days it would hit 102.7, 102.8, and 102.9. When I started the SQ injections it was definitely better than the IV but my fever still went high and I always felt bad. It took me about 17 months to complete the full 152 doses. Within 4-5 months of finishing the Interferon my cancer came back and spread to my right lung making me stage IVB. They did a wedge resection in March 2016 and I started on Nivolumab in April 2016. Orginally, I was going to be on it for one year. At the one year mark they decided to keep me on it for one more year. At my two year mark I called Bristol -Myers and they told me the only indications for me to ever stop would be recurrence of cancer or progression. So, I'm going on my third year with Nivolumab and I've had clean PET scans ever since I started. Other than fatigue I have almost no side effects from the Nivolumab. I think even if I did have side effects after going through the Interferon I probably wouldn't even notice. This Nivolumab is enjoyable compared to Interferon, at least in my situation. 

I can't speak to your specific question of nivo vs interferon but I can speak to nivo.  I'm stage IV and started with the ipi/nivo combo and it worked very well for me.  I can't say it was a walk in the park but much better than the treatments for the other cancer types.  I'm currently on nivo only and I tolerate it fairly well.  Everyone is different so who knows.  Although I understand interferon has pretty bad side effects.  I'd say the big thing with nivo is uncertainty.  Is my knee pain because I'm getting older and did too much or a side effect?  Is my stomach upset due to stress or a side effect?  The joint pain is probably cause I overdid it.  The stomach was from stress as it settled down after about a week which coincided to when my stress happened to go down.  

Good wishes to you

Jennifer