# CheckMate 498

Source: https://onco.cc/trials/checkmate-498/  
OnCo record `checkmate-498` (Trial). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

CheckMate 498 asked whether nivolumab could replace temozolomide in the glioblastoma patients who gain least from it. Patients given nivolumab lived a shorter time.

## Summary

CheckMate 498, trial NCT02617589 sponsored by BMS, randomised 560 patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma and an unmethylated MGMT promoter to standard radiotherapy (60 Gy) with nivolumab or with temozolomide. Median overall survival, the primary endpoint, was 13.4 months with nivolumab and 14.9 months with temozolomide (HR 1.31, 95% CI 1.09-1.58); median progression-free survival was 6.0 versus 6.2 months. Published by Omuro and colleagues in Neuro-Oncology (2023;25:123-134). It is one of three negative phase 3 trials of nivolumab in glioblastoma, with CheckMate 143 at recurrence and CheckMate 548 in MGMT-methylated disease.

## Fields

- Kind: Trial
- Status: negative
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Registry id: NCT02617589
- Phase: 3
- Setting: Newly diagnosed glioblastoma with unmethylated MGMT promoter: radiotherapy + nivolumab vs radiotherapy + temozolomide
- Sponsor: BMS
- Enrolled: 560
- Result: OS 13.4 vs 14.9 months, HR 1.31 (95% CI 1.09-1.58); worse with nivolumab.
- Outcomes: Overall survival, MGMT-unmethylated glioblastoma: Nivolumab + RT 13.4 months vs Temozolomide + RT 14.9 months, HR 1.31
- Replication: Consistent with CheckMate 143 and 548: three negative randomised trials of PD-1 blockade in glioblastoma.

## Sources

- ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02617589: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT02617589
- Omuro et al., Radiotherapy combined with nivolumab or temozolomide for newly diagnosed glioblastoma with unmethylated MGMT promoter: an international randomized phase III trial (Neuro-Oncology 2023): https://doi.org/10.1093/neuonc/noac099

## Connected records

- cancers: [Glioma & glioblastoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/glioblastoma/)
- technologies: [Immune checkpoint inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/), [IMRT / IGRT (modern external beam)](https://onco.cc/technologies/imrt-igrt/)
- targets: [PD-1](https://onco.cc/targets/pd1/)
- drugs: [Nivolumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/nivolumab/), [Temozolomide](https://onco.cc/drugs/temozolomide/)
- terms: [Blood-brain barrier (BBB)](https://onco.cc/terms/blood-brain-barrier/), [Hot vs cold tumours](https://onco.cc/terms/cold-vs-hot/), [MGMT promoter methylation](https://onco.cc/terms/mgmt/)
- ideas: [Neoadjuvant immunotherapy with surgical window for glioblastoma](https://onco.cc/ideas/idea-neoadjuvant-io-glioblastoma/)

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