Discussing the Phase II Study of Lenvatinib/Pembrolizumab in Metastatic ccRCC

Chung-Han Lee, MD, PhD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), discusses the rationale for the phase II study of lenvatinib (Lenvima) plus pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for disease progression after PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor in metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

Combinations of anti-VEGF and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have shown great efficacy in clinical studies involving patients with kidney cancer. The question then became whether these combinations would still be effective in patients who previously progressed on a PD-1 inhibitor. Because of the speculation surrounding the idea of treating patients with another immune checkpoint inhibitor after they progressed on one, researchers at MSK decided to launch a study.

The results of the interim analysis, which included 33 patients from the study, showed partial responses in 64% of patients at 24 weeks of follow-up. The study also demonstrated a median progression-free survival of 11.2 months.