Nivolumab clearance (CL) in patients with advanced melanoma (MEL) decreases over the treatment duration, with change in CL associated with improved disease status, measured by reduced tumor burden. Here, we characterize the pharmacokinetics of nivolumab administered as adjuvant therapy for patients with MEL (AdjMEL) whose tumors were removed by surgical resection. A population pharmacokinetic model was developed using data from 1,773 patients with AdjMEL, MEL, non-small cell lung cancer, and other solid tumors who received nivolumab over a dose range of 0.1-20 mg/kg every 2 weeks. In patients with AdjMEL, the geometric mean nivolumab CL of 6.0 mL/hour was 40% lower at baseline and did not vary with time and 20% lower at steady state compared with patients with MEL. Lower nivolumab CL in patients with AdjMEL and absence of time dependence support the hypothesis that changes in nivolumab CL in the metastatic setting are associated with disease status after treatment.
© 2019 The Authors Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics © 2019 American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.