Dr. Choueiri on Atezolizumab Plus Bevacizumab in Non-Clear Cell RCC

Toni Choueiri, MD, director, Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology, director, Kidney Cancer Center, Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the combination of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and bevacizumab (Avastin) in patients with non—clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Following the use of combinations of checkpoint inhibitors and VEGF TKIs for patients with advanced RCC, a group from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute presented data on the combination of atezolizumab and bevacizumab in a particular area of unmet need. This patient population includes those with papillary RCC, chromophobe RCC, and other subtypes. In a phase II study presented at the 2019 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, the overall response rate was 31% with the combination, Choueiri says. Ten patients developed grade 3 treatment-related adverse events (AEs), but there were no grade 4/5 AEs.

These data are important because patients with non—clear cell RCC have not been studied as rigorously as those with clear-cell disease. This is a rarer and more heterogeneous subtype, Choueiri adds.