Dr. Braun on Frontline Immunotherapy in Advanced RCC

David A. Braun, MD, PhD, physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, discusses the use of immunotherapy in the frontline treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Most patients with advanced RCC should receive immunotherapy in the frontline setting rather than VEGF TKI monotherapy, regardless of their risk status, says Braun. Several combinations are approved for use in this setting, including axitinib (Inlyta)/avelumab (Bavencio), nivolumab (Opdivo)/ipilimumab (Yervoy), and axitinib/pembrolizumab (Keytruda).

Long-term follow-up suggests that patients do just as well, if not better, with immunotherapy versus antiangiogenic therapy alone, adds Braun. As such, immunotherapy should be used in patients with intermediate- and poor-risk as well as favorable-risk disease, concludes Braun.