Intracranial antitumor responses of nivolumab and ipilimumab: A pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic perspective, a scoping systematic review

Recently, two phase II trials showed intracranial activity of the immune checkpoint inhibitors nivolumab and ipilimumab in patients with melanoma brain metastases. However, it is generally assumed that large molecules like monoclonal antibodies nivolumab and ipilimumab cannot penetrate and pass an intact blood brain barrier (BBB).