Immunotherapy/TKI Combinations in Advanced RCC

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 patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Since the FDA approved the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) for patients with advanced intermediate- and poor-risk RCC, other immunotherapy regimens are moving through the pipeline with encouraging activity. Oncologists in general are becoming more comfortable treating patients with immuno-oncology agents as monotherapy or in combination, Figlin says. When TKIs and checkpoint inhibitors are combined, there is not a unique toxicity profile that physicians are not sensitive to already. An important factor will be choosing an endpoint to determine the necessary treatment strategy—is the goal objective response rate, progression-free survival, overall survival, or adverse event profile?