Dr. Lee on Second-Line Treatment Options in RCC

Chung-Han (Joe) Lee, MD, PhD, medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses second-line treatment options in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Historically, in the second-line setting, TKIs have been used after treatment with other TKIs, says Lee. In addition to cabozantinib (Cabometyx), which was approved based on data from the phase 3 METEOR trial, the use of axitinib has also been considered. Axitinib (Inlyta) was also examined in a randomized trial that showed benefit in this space, says Lee. Since 2005, there was some interest in examining different combination therapies in RCC.

The combination of lenvatinib (Lenvima) plus everolimus (Afinitor) was approved following results from a randomized phase 2 trial, which compared that doublet regimen with each agent alone. The results with the combination, in terms of improvements in objective response rates, progression-free survival, and overall survival, were outstanding, concludes Lee.