Dr Barata on the Critical Updates for the Treatment of Advanced RCC in 2023

Pedro Barata, MD, MSc, director, GU Medical Oncology Research Program, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, associate professor, medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the biggest clinical trial updates to emerge for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) from the 2023 International Kidney Cancer Symposium (IKCS).

IKCS stands as the paramount gathering to delve into discussions and data surrounding kidney cancer, encompassing both clear cell and rarer subtypes, Barata begins. Oncologists convene each year at IKCS to discuss crucial data that emerged from major meetings such as the ASCO Annual Meeting and the ESMO Congress. The discussions at IKCS often provide updates and highlight key points from throughout the year, he adds.

In 2023, the discourse surrounding HIF inhibition took center stage and emerged as a pivotal highlight of the meeting, he continues. Presentations highlighted the journey of this modality, tracing the path from early development in the lab to target HIF, to the discovery of compounds progressing to clinical trials, culminating in phase 3 studies, Barata says. Recent data presented in 2023 underscore the positivity of the trial, he adds Notably, the first-in-class agent belzutifan (Welireg), had phase 3 data reported, where it demonstrated superiority over the standard of care for pretreated patients with advanced refractory renal cell carcinoma, Barata emphasizes. This represents a notable shift, potentially introducing a novel mechanism of action to the repertoire of treatment options for these patients, he adds.

Beyond this development, other significant updates have emerged, Barata expands. For the first time, oncologists have witnessed data on triplet therapy in the front-line treatment setting in the phase 3 COSMIC-313 trial (NCT03937219) featuring cabozantinib (Cabometyx) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo), he says. Additionally, long-term follow-up data for various immuno-oncology–based approaches commonly used for advanced RCC have been presented, Barata explains. The landscape is further enriched with data on novel bispecific molecules combining checkpoint inhibition. The promising array of developments extends to discussions on available immunotherapy approaches, fostering an environment of excitement and anticipation at IKCS, Barata concludes.