AUTHOR=Fujimura Taku , Kambayashi Yumi , Sato Yota , Tanita Kayo , Amagai Ryo , Hashimoto Akira , Hidaka Takanori , Aiba Setsuya TITLE=Successful Treatment of Unresectable Advanced Melanoma by Administration of Nivolumab With Ipilimumab Before Primary Tumor Resection JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine VOLUME=6 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2019.00140 DOI=10.3389/fmed.2019.00140 ISSN=2296-858X ABSTRACT=

Ipilimumab, in combination with nivolumab, is one of the promising drugs that enhance the anti-tumor immune response of patients with advanced melanoma. Since the co-administration of nivolumab with ipilimumab in the neoadjuvant setting expands melanoma-reactive T cells at the primary site of melanoma and has a high rate of histological complete response, the pre-surgical administration of this combination could be the optimal therapy for unresectable advanced melanoma. In this report, a case of unresectable advanced melanoma treated successfully with administration of nivolumab with ipilimumab before primary tumor resection is presented. In addition, CD8+ T cells increased among the tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes that were surrounding melanoma cells and caspase 3+ cells. The present case suggests that pre-surgical administration of nivolumab with ipilimumab could be the optimal therapy for the treatment of unresectable advanced melanoma.