June 2 (Reuters) - Treatment with Bristol Myers Squibb's ( BMY )

immunotherapies Opdivo and Yervoy prior to surgery for

patients whose skin cancer had spread to lymph nodes had better

outcomes than those who did not get the drugs before node

removal procedures, according to data from a late-stage trial

released on Sunday.

The study of 423 patients with stage 3 melanoma found that

83.7% of patients who received the immunotherapies before their

surgery were alive without the disease worsening after

12-months.

The 12-month event-free survival rate in the patients who

did not receive the so-called neoadjuvant treatment, but were

treated with Opdivo for a year afterward, was 57.2%, researchers

reported at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

meeting in Chicago.

Around 58% of patients in the treatment arm had a complete

pathologic response, meaning there was no sign of cancer in the

removed lymph nodes, and they did not receive additional

treatment.

The rest of the patients either received more Opdivo or

Novartis' targeted drugs Tafinlar and Mekinist.

"This will likely change our practice," ASCO President Dr.

Lynn Schuchter said in an interview.

"Many patients can just be treated with a very limited

course, albeit it has a little more toxicity, but not have to

complete a whole year... That's a really good outcome," she

said.

The study was sponsored by the Netherlands Cancer Institute

and the Melanoma Institute Australia and funded by Bristol Myers

Squibb ( BMY ) and the National Health and Medical Research Council

Australia.