Dr. Agarwal on the CheckMate-214 Trial for Kidney Cancer

Neeraj Agarwal, MD, associate professor, Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Huntsman Cancer Institute, discusses the CheckMate-214 trial for patients with kidney cancer.

The treatment in newly diagnosed patients with RCC has undergone a revolution in the last year, according to Agarwal. Until recently, there were only 2 drugs—sunitinib (Sutent) and pazopanib (Votrient), which were considered standard of care for these patients.

The CheckMate-214 trial tested the combination of ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo) compared with sunitinib. This trial showed an improved overall survival, as well as overall response rates with the combination. The complete response rates were 9% in patients who were treated with the combination. This has the potential to transform the care for these patients, explains Agarwal.