Data on CB-839, a first-in-class glutaminase inhibitor, will be presented by Tannir et al at the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco (Abstract 603). The data are from the CX-839-001 study, which includes cohorts evaluating the safety, efficacy and recommended phase II dose of ...
Combining the antiangiogenic agent axitinib (Inlyta) with the immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was found to have promising antitumor activity and no unexpected side effects in an early-phase clinical trial in patients with advanced kidney cancer who had not been previously treated. The full...
In a phase III clinical trial of patients with previously untreated metastatic renal cell cancer combining the immunotherapy atezolizumab (Tecentriq) with the targeted therapy bevacizumab (Avastin) delayed cancer growth by about 3 months longer than sunitinib, another targeted therapy. The benefit...
Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of the City of Hope, discusses immunotherapy as a front-line treatment for kidney cancer and the strategy of VEGF blockade with immunotherapy, which is emerging as a possible treatment modality.
On January 9, Eisai and Merck announced that they received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Eisai's multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor lenvatinib (Lenvima) in combination with Merck's anti–programmed cell death protein 1...
On December 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to avelumab (Bavencio) in combination with axitinib (Inlyta) for treatment-naive patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. “A combination approach with an immunotherapy, whose activity may ...
On December 19, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to cabozantinib (Cabometyx) for treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The FDA previously approved cabozantinib in 2016 for treatment of patients with advanced RCC who have received...
On December 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for priority review of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) to treat intermediate- and poor-risk patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. The FDA also previously...
Action to Cure Kidney Cancer (ACKC) was instrumental in securing a $10 million line item for the Kidney Cancer Research Program as part of the Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). This represents the largest increase ever in the...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved sunitinib malate (Sutent) for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients who are at a high risk of recurrent renal cell carcinoma after nephrectomy. “This is the first adjuvant treatment approved for patients with renal cell...
On October 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for cabozantinib (Cabometyx) for patients with previously untreated advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) to be sufficiently complete to permit a substantive review. The FDA granted...
Gerard Morton, MD, of Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre, summarizes a session that included discussion of late toxicities of radiotherapy for locally recurrent prostate cancer; using chemotherapy instead of radiation in early-stage seminoma; radiotherapy vs surgery plus radiotherapy in Gleason score...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved bevacizumab-awwb (Mvasi) as a biosimilar to bevacizumab (Avastin) for the treatment of multiple types of cancer. Bevacizumab-awwb is the first biosimilar approved in the U.S. for the treatment of cancer. “Bringing new biosimilars to...
Toni K. Choueiri, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses updated overall survival results on cabozantinib vs sunitinib as initial targeted treatment for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (Abstract LBA38).
Bernard J. Escudier, MD, of Gustave Roussy, offers a roundup of the important papers on renal cell cancer presented at this year's ESMO Congress.
Robert A. Figlin, MD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses an interim analysis of phase III findings on rocapuldencel-T, an individualized immunotherapy, for newly diagnosed patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (Abstract 1137O).
Bernard J. Escudier, MD, of Gustave Roussy, discusses efficacy and safety of nivolumab plus ipilimumab vs sunitinib for treatment-naïve advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma, including IMDC risk and PD-L1 expression subgroups (Abstract LBA5).
On August 28, AVEO Oncology announced that the European Commission (EC) has approved tivozanib (Fotivda) for the treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma in the European Union plus Norway and Iceland. Tivozanib is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with...
On August 15, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced topline results from the CheckMate-214 trial investigating nivolumab (Opdivo) in combination with ipilimumab (Yervoy) vs sunitinib (Sutent) in intermediate- and poor-risk patients with previously untreated advanced or metastatic renal cell...
Daniel Heng, MD, MPH, of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the University of Calgary, and Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of the City of Hope, discuss key findings presented at ASCO: adjuvant pazopanib vs placebo after nephrectomy in patients with locally advanced disease (the PROTECT Trial), and adjuvant...
Bernard J. Escudier, MD, of Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, and Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of City of Hope, discuss phase III study findings on adjuvant sunitinib used to treat high-risk renal cell carcinoma, which validate the 16-gene Recurrence Score in patients with stage III disease. (Abstract 4508)
Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of City of Hope, and Toni K. Choueiri, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, exchange views on the key papers in renal cell carcinoma presented at ASCO’s 2017 nonprostate GU oral abstract session. (Abstracts 4504, 4505, 4506, 4507, 4508)
Primo Lara, MD, of the University of California, Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses three top abstracts on treating advanced renal cell carcinoma with epacadostat, pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, bevacizumab, sunitinib, or pazopanib. (Abstracts 4505, 4507, 4515)
Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that surgery could more than double life expectancy for many patients with late-stage kidney cancer, giving them anywhere from 2 to almost 10 years more than they would have without the surgery. A paper published by Zaid et al in The Journal of Urology found...
The latest in a series of studies led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that addition of a widely available, noninvasive imaging test called 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT/CT (single-photon emission computed tomography plus computed tomography) to conventional CT or magnetic resonance imaging...
Immunologic changes observed in an early study of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) raised the possibility for a larger clinical study of combination immunotherapy, according to findings reported by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The results of...
Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of the City of Hope, summarizes a session he co-chaired on the opportunities and challenges in systemic therapy for advanced renal cancer, including imaging as a biomarker of response and optimal selection of front-line treatments. (General Session 9)
Rana R. McKay, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, discusses study findings on PD-1/PD-L1 responders with metastatic renal cell carcinoma who discontinue therapy for immune-related adverse events. (Abstract 467)
W. Marston Linehan, MD, of the National Cancer Institute, discusses the genetic basis of the different types of kidney cancer, which provides the key to clinical management.
Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of the City of Hope, discusses the evolution of circulating tumor DNA profile from first-line to second-line therapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. (Abstract 434)
Toni K. Choueiri, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses study findings on atezolizumab with or without bevacizumab vs sunitinib in patients with untreated metastatic renal cell carcinoma. (Abstract 431)
Toni K. Choueiri, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses a single-arm biomarker-based study of savolitinib in patients with advanced papillary renal cell cancer. (Abstract 436)
Results from the phase II IMmotion150 study that compared atezolizumab (Tecentriq) plus bevacizumab (Avastin) and atezolizumab monotherapy to sunitinib (Sutent) alone in patients with previously untreated, locally advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma were presented at the 2017 Genitourinary...
A new retrospective analysis suggests that immunotherapy may be less effective in patients who receive antibiotics less than a month before starting treatment. In the study, cancer worsened more quickly in such patients than in those who did not receive antibiotics (with median progression-free...
Early findings from a new study appear to challenge the current standard practice for immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy—continuing treatment until cancer worsens. Among patients with advanced kidney cancer who stopped programmed cell death protein 1/programmed cell death ligand 1...
The first evidence-based consensus statement on cancer immunotherapy for the treatment of patients with the most common type of kidney cancer, renal cell carcinoma, has been published by the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer by Rini et al. The...
Cabozantinib (Cabometyx, Cometriq) significantly improves progression-free survival and response rate in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma compared to sunitinib (Sutent), according to research presented by Choueiri et al at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)...
A phase III trial of sunitinib (Sutent) has met its primary endpoint of disease-free survival for adjuvant treatment of high-risk renal cell carcinoma after nephrectomy, reported Ravaud et al at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2016 Congress in Copenhagen (Abstract LBA11_PR)....
Alain Ravaud, MD, PhD, of Bordeaux University Hospital, discusses in French phase III findings on sunitinib vs placebo as adjuvant treatment for high-risk renal cell carcinoma after nephrectomy. (Abstract LBA11)
Alain Ravaud, MD, PhD, of Bordeaux University Hospital, discusses phase III findings on sunitinib vs placebo as adjuvant treatment for high-risk renal cell carcinoma after nephrectomy. (Abstract LBA11)
Toni K. Choueiri, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses study findings on cabozantinib vs sunitinib as initial targeted therapy for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma of poor and intermediate risk. (Abstract LBA30) Follow him on Twitter: @DrChoueiri
On September 13, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) modified the dosage regimen for nivolumab (Opdivo) for the currently approved indications for renal cell carcinoma, metastatic melanoma, and non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The currently approved recommended dosage...
Researchers funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) have shown that when the metabolite fumarate accumulates in a hereditary form of renal cancer, it leads to an epigenetic reprogramming that drives cancer, according to a study published by Sciacovelli et al in Nature. The tumor growth...
Renal cell carcinomas (RCC) positive for the protein programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) from patients who did not respond to treatment with the anti–PD-1 therapeutic nivolumab (Opdivo) had significantly higher expression of genes associated with metabolism, compared with PD-L1–positive...
In a large randomized study, the immunotherapy drug nivolumab (Opdivo), an anti–PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) monoclonal antibody, was shown to be a safe and effective therapy for kidney cancer even in patients who continued treatment after their disease progressed. Results ...
David F. McDermott, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Toni K. Choueiri, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discuss an update on data from phase I and II studies of nivolumab given to patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, including long-term overall survival and...
On May 13, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lenvatinib capsules (Lenvima), in combination with everolimus (Afinitor) for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma following one prior antiangiogenic therapy. Lenvatinib was first approved in 2015 for the treatment...
On April 25, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx) tablets for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma in patients who have received prior antiangiogenic therapy. Cabozantinib is a dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor of MET and VEGFR2. The...
Renal cell carcinoma can sometimes spread to the inferior vena cava, posing a threat to the heart and brain. Robotic nephrectomy for inferior vena cava tumor thrombus has favorable outcomes in selected patients compared with open surgery, which can have a high rate of complications, reported Abaza...
New analyses from a phase III clinical trial of patients with previously treated advanced kidney cancer demonstrated that patients of all risk levels experience more benefit from cabozantinib (Cometriq) than from the current standard of care, everolimus (Afinitor). The greater activity of...