Dr. Lee on Combining TKIs With Immunotherapy in mRCC

Chung-Han Lee, MD, PhD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the potential for combining TKIs with immunotherapy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) who have progressed on checkpoint inhibitors.

Historically, single-agent TKIs have been used for the treatment of patients with mRCC, says Lee. However, the introduction of checkpoint inhibitors has added to the armamentarium.

FDA-approved checkpoint inhibitor combinations include nivolumab (Opdivo)/ipilimumab (Yervoy), axitinib (Inlyta)/avelumab (Bavencio), and axitinib/pembrolizumab (Keytruda), explains Lee.

Although these combinations can lead to favorable outcomes, some patients will progress, says Lee.

As such, researchers are evaluating the combination of the TKI lenvatinib (Lenvima) with pembrolizumab as a potential salvage treatment for patients who progress on checkpoint inhibitors, concludes Lee.