Findings from an international clinical trial led by Jeffrey Weber, MD, deputy director of Perlmutter Cancer Center and professor of medicine at NYU School of Medicine, show that the immunotherapy drug nivolumab is safer and more effective in treating advanced melanoma compared to the current standard of care, ipilimumab.

“Our results demonstrate that nivolumab is more effective in treating patients with stage III and IV melanoma, cutting the risk of relapse by a third,” Dr. Weber tells CBS News. “Results like this will change how we practice medicine. Hopefully, physicians will embrace the use of nivolumab in these high-risk patients as adjuvant therapy.”

This study not only shows that risk of relapse was decreased, but also shows the decrease in side effects and toxicity compared to the current standard of care.

Read more from CBS News.