# CheckMate 76K: adjuvant nivolumab in resected stage IIB or IIC melanoma

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-checkmate-76k-nat-med-2023/  
OnCo record `paper-checkmate-76k-nat-med-2023` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Adjuvant nivolumab for a year after surgery cut the risk of recurrence by more than half in stage IIB and IIC melanoma, confirming the benefit seen with pembrolizumab in the same setting.

## Summary

Phase 3 placebo-controlled trial of 790 patients with completely resected stage IIB or IIC melanoma randomised 2:1 to nivolumab or placebo for 12 months.

Twelve-month recurrence-free survival was 89.0 versus 79.4 percent (hazard ratio 0.42), with benefit across subgroups and a distant metastasis-free survival hazard ratio of 0.47; treatment-related grade 3 to 4 adverse events occurred in 10.3 percent.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-17
- Journal: Nature Medicine
- Year: 2023
- DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02583-2
- Authors: Kirkwood JM, Del Vecchio M, Weber J, et al.
- Findings: Twelve-month recurrence-free survival 89.0 percent vs 79.4 percent; hazard ratio 0.42.; Distant metastasis-free survival hazard ratio 0.47.
- What it means: Nivolumab is a second approved adjuvant option for stage IIB and IIC melanoma with the same trade-offs as pembrolizumab.
- Caveats: Short follow-up at primary analysis; no survival data.

## Sources

- Nat Med 2023: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02583-2
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37845511/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Stage IIB and IIC melanoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/stage-ii-melanoma/)
- drugs: [Nivolumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/nivolumab/)
- trials: [Effectiveness Study of Nivolumab Compared to Placebo in Prevention of Recurrent Melanoma After Complete Resection of Stage IIB/C Melanoma](https://onco.cc/trials/nct04099251/)
- journals: [Nature Medicine](https://onco.cc/journals/nature-medicine/)

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