ASCO 2025 | The future of sarilumab with checkpoint inhibition in unresectable melanoma
Janice Mehnert, MD, in Cancer Center of NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, discusses the Phase II study (NCT05428007) of interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor blocker sarilumab in combination with ipilimumab, nivolumab and relatlimab in patients with unresectable stage III or stage IV melanoma. The findings suggest IL-6 blockade has potential utility across multiple tumour types where checkpoint inhibition is used, not solely in melanoma. Ideally, this treatment regime will be implemented as neoadjuvant therapy, using checkpoint inhibitors synergistically to decrease toxicity and offer an early cure. However, sarilumab’s suggested superiority over tocilizumab and its potential role in combination blockade therapy are still being evaluated in clinical trials. This interview took place during the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Meeting in Chicago, IL.
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Transcript
So I think the excitement about these results is that IL-6 blockade could be applied to multiple tumor types where checkpoint inhibition is used. There’s no reason that we need to restrict this to just melanoma if in fact this winds up being a widespread phenomenon. So for me, that’s incredibly exciting to think about. I think in terms of specifically in melanoma, we’re having conversations about moving a regimen like this to the neoadjuvant space...
So I think the excitement about these results is that IL-6 blockade could be applied to multiple tumor types where checkpoint inhibition is used. There’s no reason that we need to restrict this to just melanoma if in fact this winds up being a widespread phenomenon. So for me, that’s incredibly exciting to think about. I think in terms of specifically in melanoma, we’re having conversations about moving a regimen like this to the neoadjuvant space. So we could see if perhaps by using all of our checkpoint inhibitors at once, but also decreasing the potential for toxicity, we might actually be able to take our best shot on goal and offer patients the best chance of cure as early as possible. I think in terms of comparison to tocilizumab, hypothetically, sarilumab is a more potent inhibitor of the IL-6 receptor. We’re not able to prove that in the results that we have to date, but we’ll have more information moving forward from the randomized trial that may add to that conversation.
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