Dr. Agarwal on Emerging Immunotherapeutic Combinations in Kidney Cancer

Neeraj Agarwal, MD, associate professor, Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Huntsman Cancer Institute, discusses emerging immunotherapeutic combinations in kidney cancer.

Within the next 2 years, physicians are going to see the efficacy and approval of newer combinations, explains Agarwal. Some of these include axitinib (Inlyta) with pembrolizumab (Keytruda), in which the overall response rate has exceeded 70%. Lenvatinib (Lenvima) with pembrolizumab and axitinib with avelumab (Bavencio) are additional combinations that are being explored.

Physicians are also testing cabozantinib (Cabometyx) with atezolizumab (Tecentriq). Dr Sumanta Kumar Pal is leading the trial, and physicians at the Huntsman Cancer Institute are fortunate to have that combination available for their patients in clinic. The open-label, multicenter, phase Ib study (NCT03170960) is looking at the combination across several tumor types, including in advanced kidney cancer as a frontline treatment. Investigators on the trial, which will have a dose-escalation stage followed by a dose-expansion stage, will evaluate the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of the regimen.