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ESMO conference: Bristol-Myers' Opdivo extends esophageal cancer patients' lives

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said its cancer immunotherapy Opdivo prolonged esophageal cancer patients' lives more than chemotherapy, according to results of a late-stage trial presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology's 2019 annual meeting.

Opdivo reduced patients' risk of death by 23% in patients with advanced or recurring esophageal squamous cell carcinoma compared with those receiving chemotherapy. The drug also improved patients' median length of survival by 2.5 months over chemotherapy in the phase 3 study.

Opdivo is among a class of drugs that block an interaction between cancer cells and healthy immune cells, allowing the body's immune system to attack the tumor.

In the trial, dubbed Attraction-3, 47% of patients lived to one year and 31% lived to a year and a half when receiving Opdivo. Of those taking chemotherapy, 34% lived to one year and 21% lived to a year and a half.

Only 66% of patients showed adverse events while on Opdivo while 95% of patients on chemotherapy demonstrated side effects as a result of treatment.

"These are very promising results for patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma for whom prognosis is typically poor and are particularly important given Opdivo improved survival regardless of PD-L1 status," said Ian Waxman, development lead for gastrointestinal cancers at Bristol-Myers.

The five-year survival rate for people with esophageal cancer is only 8% for people whose cancer has spread.

Opdivo was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March 2015 for squamous cell lung cancer.

The European Society for Medical Oncology is holding its 2019 scientific meeting in Barcelona, where more than 3,900 study abstracts have been submitted for review by oncology professionals from around the world.