Dr. Clark on the Potential of Immunotherapy in Renal Cell Carcinoma

Peter Clark, MD, medical oncologist, Levine Cancer Institute, discusses the potential of immunotherapy in the treatment of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Checkpoint inhibition holds a lot of promise in the treatment landscape of RCC, says Clark. That class of therapy, notes Clark, ramps up a patient’s immune system and releases the brakes that were put in place to inhibit the immune system’s ability to fight the cancer. Though it is not effective for every patient with RCC, it has shown tremendous activity in those in which it works.

Checkpoint inhibition has also made a big impact on the treatment landscape of advanced bladder cancer, says Clark. Ongoing trials are looking at the optimal space in which to place these therapies. Clinical trials are looking at patients with metastatic disease, locally advanced disease, and even earlier-stage disease. Immunotherapy has likely been the biggest development in bladder cancer, concludes Clark.