Renal Cell Carcinoma

With new targeted and immune-based treatments coming out for renal cell carcinoma, predictive biomarkers are needed more than ever. The many different tumor entities of RCC, their genetic and mutational alterations and different clinical behaviors all contribute to a complex disease that requires personalized treatment.

A combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab conferred durable partial responses among certain patients with treatment-refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma, according to phase 2 study results presented at the virtual ASCO Annual Meeting.

First-line pembrolizumab plus axitinib extended survival among patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, according to updated results of the randomized phase 3 KEYNOTE-426 study presented during the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program.

This is the time of year when I often reflect on progress in the area of my greatest clinical interest, genitourinary oncology.

Novartis has reached an agreement with biopharmaceutical company TScan Therapeutics to develop new autologous T-cell receptor therapies for the treatment of solid tumors.

AVEO Oncology initiated enrollment in an early trial of a combination therapy using Fotivda and Imfinzi for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with no prior systemic therapy, according to a press release.

Phase 1 study to determine the safety and feasibility of using HERV-E TCR-transduced autologous T Cells in patients with metastatic clear-cell renal-cell carcinoma.

Targeted therapies appeared associated with modest improvements in OS compared with nontargeted therapies among elderly patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, according to results of a retrospective study published in JAMA Network Open.

More than half of patients diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma are at least 65 years old, and the median age at diagnosis is 64. Although increased life expectancies in general and prolonged survival times as a result of targeted therapies deserve optimism, elderly patients with renal cell carcinoma also bring unique clinical challenges. Beyond medical factors, social, psychological and financial elements also influence treatment practicalities and outcomes.

Immune therapy combinations have made a tremendous impact on life expectancy and induced long-term remissions. Targeted therapy has also made big strides in improving outcomes. Cancer genomics has the potential to help us customize therapy in the future.