ASCO 2025 | Adding sarilumab to checkpoint inhibitors improves melanoma response and reduces toxicity
Janice Mehnert, MD, Perlmutter Cancer Center of NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, comments on the rationale behind adding sarilumab with checkpoint inhibitors in patients with unresectable stage III or stage IV melanoma, highlighting the role of interleukin-6 as a mediator of inflammation and the potential to improve response rates and decrease toxicity. Dr Mehnert suggests that blocking the IL-6 receptor with sarilumab could help overcome the limitations of checkpoint inhibitors in patients with high interleukin-6 levels. This interview took place during the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Meeting in Chicago, IL.
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Transcript
We have found that interleukin-6 is an important mediator of inflammation in patients with melanoma and actually other types of solid tumors to the point that patients that had high levels of interleukin-6 in their blood were the ones that didn’t enjoy as robust clinical outcomes with checkpoint inhibitors. And by offering the cerulamab as part of the regimen, that would help blockade interleukin-6 by blocking the IL-6 receptor...
We have found that interleukin-6 is an important mediator of inflammation in patients with melanoma and actually other types of solid tumors to the point that patients that had high levels of interleukin-6 in their blood were the ones that didn’t enjoy as robust clinical outcomes with checkpoint inhibitors. And by offering the cerulamab as part of the regimen, that would help blockade interleukin-6 by blocking the IL-6 receptor. And hopefully, our hypothesis was that we would both improve the response rate and decrease the toxicity of checkpoint inhibitors for patients with melanoma.
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