According to Eric Jonasch, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, “These data show that treatment with a potent and specific antiangiogenic agent after immunotherapy does provide significant prolongation of progression-free survival, and that axitinib is clearly superior to sorafenib from a statistical and clinical perspective.” In the post–VEGF-targeted therapy scenario, he noted, the benefit of axitinib over sorafenib, while statistically significant, becomes somewhat less clinically relevant. “In tyrosine kinase inhibitor–refractory patients, everolimus provided a 4.9-month progression-free survival. Therefore, axitinib provides an alternative to everolimus in tyrosine kinase inhibitor–pretreated individuals, but it is not necessarily a paradigm shifting agent in that setting,” he added. “These data underscore the need for a better understanding of the resistance mechanisms after anti-VEGF therapy, which will guide our future therapy development,” said Dr. Jonasch. ■

Disclosure: Dr. Jonasch has served as a consultant for Pfizer, AVEO Pharmaceuticals, and GlaxoSmithKline, and has received research support from Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, and Novartis.