Dr. Pal on an Enrolling Clinical Trial for Patients With GU Cancers

Sumanta Kumar Pal, MD, associate clinical professor, Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, co-director, Kidney Cancer Program, City of Hope, discusses an enrolling trial for patients with genitourinary (GU) cancers.

Physicians have seen atezolizumab (Tecentriq) work across a spectrum of cancer types, including impressive frontline data in the IMmotion150 trial in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). There are a lot of data for atezolizumab, specifically in the context of bladder cancer, says Pal.

Neeraj Agarwal, MD, from the Huntsman Cancer Institute, and Sumanta Kumar Pal, MD, from City of Hope, are chairing a trial that will look at cabozantinib (Cabometyx), a very potent multikinase VEGF inhibitor, alongside atezolizumab in a phase 1b trial in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma or RCC (NCT03170960).

There are multiple cohorts, says Pal. There is a cohort for patients in the frontline setting with untreated metastatic RCC. There are also multiple cohorts in bladder cancer for cisplatin- and carboplatin-pretreated patients who are cisplatin ineligible. Another cohort will examine patients who may be eligible for cisplatin but choose not to receive it, concludes Pal.