CheckMate 9DW
Dual immune checkpoint blockade gave the longest median survival yet seen in a first-line liver cancer trial.
Median OS 23.7 vs 20.6 months (HR 0.79); ORR 36% vs 13%; median duration of response 30.4 vs 12.9 months (Lancet 2025). FDA approval April 2025. Higher immune-related toxicity than single-agent regimens.
- Median 23.7 vs 20.6 months with Nivolumab + ipilimumab compared with Lenvatinib or sorafenib; about 3.1 months longer for half the group.
- A median is a midpoint: half the people did better than this and half did worse, so it is not a prediction for any one person.
- Put another way, the treated group had about 21 percent lower chance of the event at any given time (hazard ratio 0.79, likely range 0.65 to 0.96).
- Overall survival counts deaths from any cause, so it is the most direct measure of whether a treatment helps people live longer.
- 36 vs 13 out of 100 had their tumour shrink with Nivolumab + ipilimumab compared with Lenvatinib or sorafenib; 23 more per 100.
- Roughly one extra person helped for every 4 treated. That is a rough figure taken from the two percentages, not a guarantee for any one person.
- The p-value (<0.0001) says a difference this large would rarely happen by chance; it does not say how large or how useful the difference is.
- A response rate counts how many people had their tumours shrink by a set amount; shrinking is encouraging but does not by itself show that people live longer or feel better.
- These results apply to the people the trial enrolled: First-line unresectable HCC: nivolumab + ipilimumab vs lenvatinib or sorafenib. People in a different situation may not see the same effect.
Numbers are from the trial as recorded here; see the source links in the table below. This is orientation, not medical advice: ask your team how closely the trial population matches you.
668 participants enrolled.
| Endpoint | Arm | n | Value | HR (95% CI) | p | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall survivalprimary | Nivolumab + ipilimumab | 335 | 23.7 months | 0.79 (0.65–0.96) | 0.018 | — |
| Lenvatinib or sorafenib | 333 | 20.6 months | ||||
| Objective response rate | Nivolumab + ipilimumab | — | 36% | — | <0.0001 | — |
| Lenvatinib or sorafenib | — | 13% |
Pages like this
not linked directly; found by shared links- TrialCheckMate 648
Shares CTLA-4, Ipilimumab, Nivolumab, PD-1.
- TrialKEYNOTE-006
Shares CTLA-4, Ipilimumab, PD-1.
- InstitutionDartmouth Cancer Center
Shares CTLA-4, Ipilimumab, Nivolumab, PD-1.
- TrialCheckMate 8HW
Shares CTLA-4, Ipilimumab, Nivolumab, PD-1.
- TrialDREAMseq (ECOG-ACRIN EA6134)
Shares CTLA-4, Ipilimumab, Nivolumab, PD-1.
- TrialCheckMate 141
- TrialCOSMIC-313
Shares Ipilimumab, Nivolumab.
- InstitutionIstituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale
Shares CTLA-4, Ipilimumab, Nivolumab, PD-1.