Dr. McGregor on the Combination of Atezolizumab and Bevacizumab in RCC

Bradley McGregor, MD, clinical director, Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology, senior physician, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and instructor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses the combination of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and bevacizumab (Avastin) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

The combination of atezolizumab and bevacizumab was compared with single-agent sunitinib (Sutent) in the phase III IMmotion150 and IMmotion151 studies. Responses were similar to what is seen with the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) at approximately 40%, says McGregor. When physicians revisited the data, there was a difference in the progression-free survival between investigator-assessed and independent central review, which will need to be clarified with further data.

The combination was well-tolerated and has shown activity in non—clear cell RCC; however, more data is needed to define its role in the field. Of note, the combination is also being studied in combination with cabozantinib (Cabometyx) in the frontline setting, both in non–clear cell and clear cell RCC, concludes McGregor.