Renal Cell Carcinoma

Patients with metastatic renal and urothelial bladder cancer who receive antibiotics concomitantly with immune checkpoint inhibitors have shorter progression-free survival and overall survival rates than patients who do not, according to a poster presented at the European Congress on Immunotherapies in Cancer™ conference, hosted by Physicians’ Education Resource®, LLC, September 21 and 22, 2018, in Barcelona, Spain.

Toni K. Choueiri, MD, discusses pivotal phase III findings for the combination of axitinib plus avelumab in previously untreated patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Robert A. Figlin, MD director, division of hematology/oncology, professor of biomedical sciences and medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses the considerations behind selecting an immune-oncology agent for the treatment of patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Nivolumab in combination with low-dose ipilimumab has been recommended by the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use as treatment for patients with intermediate- and poor-risk advanced renal cell carcinoma in the frontline setting, according to Bristol-Meyers Squibb, the developer of both immunotherapy agents.

Distinct subgroups of patients with renal cell carcinoma defined by gene expression signatures were correlated with improved progression-free survival with immunotherapy or a targeted agent, an analysis of the phase II&nbsp;IMmotion151 trial showed.<br /> &nbsp;

According to topline findings from the phase III TIVO-3 trial,&nbsp;tivozanib (Fotivda) reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 26% compared with sorafenib (Nexavar) in patients with highly refractory advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Robert A. Figlin, MD, director, Division of Hematology/Oncology, professor of biomedical sciences and medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses the potential for immunotherapy/TKI combinations in the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma.

James L. Wade III, MD, FACP, FASCO, discusses the importance of clinical trials in the community.

Ulka Vaishampayan, MD,&nbsp;discussed the data reported from the phase Ib JAVELIN Solid Tumor trial at the ESMO 2018 Congress and addressed how these data will affect the treatment landscape for patients with advanced RCC.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology,&nbsp;</em>Brian I. Rini, MD, discussed these core findings from the IMmotion 151 trial he presented at the conference, as well as the implications of these findings in RCC moving forward.

Brian I. Rini, MD, professor of medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, discusses how data should be looked at between 2 combinations for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. He says atezolizumab plus bevacizumab will never be compared head to head with ipilimumab plus nivolumab.

I think one of the most important advancements in biomedical technology that has improved our understanding of the complexities of cancer is the ability to sequence the cancer genome for any individual patient, in a rapid and cost-effective manner, to help us make treatment decisions in the clinic.

Groundbreaking developments in cancer therapies can change lives, extending survival and sending patients who previously thought their chances were slim into remission. But these therapies come at a cost, and many patients reel at the prospect of heavy financial burdens. To help patients and programs meet the challenges of affording cancer treatments, community cancer centers are expanding the role of financial advocates in their organizations.

Thomas A. Gallo, MS, MDA, president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers, discusses his mission as president to &ldquo;reflect, renew, and reignite&rdquo; in order to create a more resilient oncology team for the community.

Larotrectinib induced an objective response rate of 80% in patients with advanced solid tumors who harbored&nbsp;<em>NTRK&nbsp;</em>gene fusions, according to results pooled from 3 small trials of the TRK inhibitor. Results were presented during the 2018 ESMO Congress.

A combination of an immune checkpoint inhibitor and a VEGF inhibitor, avelumab and axitinib, induced 2-fold higher&nbsp;objective response rates compared with&nbsp;sunitinib in patients with treatment-na&iuml;ve advanced renal cell carcinoma, regardless of their PD-L1 expression.&nbsp;Progression-free survival was also significantly improved over sunitinib, according to findings from the phase III JAVELIN Renal 101 trial presented at the 2018 ESMO Congress.

Brian Rini, MD, professor of medicine, Cleveland Clinic, discusses subgroup findings from the IMmotion151 trial in metastatic renal cell carcinoma.&nbsp;

Rising prescription drug prices continue to add to the burden of paying for quality healthcare. In an effort to confront such costs, the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services has rescinded a prohibition on step therapy for Medicare Advantage plans. But some contend such a policy will reduce patient access to optimal medication.

Patients with advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma who were treated with the combination of&nbsp;pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and&nbsp;axitinib (Inlyta) demonstrated a significantly improved survival benefit compared with&nbsp;sunitinib (Sutent)&nbsp;in the first-line setting, meeting the endpoints of the pivotal phase III KEYNOTE-426 trial.

Bradley McGregor, MD,&nbsp;discusses the impact of combination therapies on the treatment landscape of renal cell carcinoma.

<br /> Shilpa Gupta, MD, assistant professor in the Hematology, Oncology, and Transplantation Division at the University of Minnesota, discusses the potential for triplet regimens in the treatment of patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Long-term metastatic control is an important goal for patients with high-risk renal cell carcinoma after nephrectomy. In recent years, adjuvant therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors has entered the picture to potentially fill this unmet need.

Progression-free survival was significantly improved in treatment-na&iuml;ve patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma by combining&nbsp;the PD-L1 inhibitor avelumab (Bavencio) with the VEGF inhibitor axitinib (Inlyta) compared with sunitinib, according to findings from the phase III JAVELIN Renal 101 study.

The presence of biomarkers including SDF-1, VEGF-A, and sVEGFR1 and 2 at baseline were associated with poorer progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with sunitinib prior to nephrectomy.

Daniel J. George, MD, professor of medicine and surgery at Duke Cancer Institute, discusses his rationale for choosing patients with renal cell carcinoma that should receive adjuvant sunitinib therapy.&nbsp;