Dr. Plimack on an mTOR/HDAC Inhibitor Combination in RCC

Elizabeth Plimack, MD, MS, attending physician, medical oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses a phase I trial that looked at overcoming mTOR resistance with an HDAC inhibitor in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

In this trial, patients received the mTOR inhibitor ridaforolimus in combination with the HDAC inhibitor vorinostat. Plimack says the rationale for this trial was to test the hypothesis that resistance to mTOR inhibitors can be overcome by HDAC inhibition. Currently, mTOR inhibitors are approved for the treatment of RCC, though resistance has been noted and some patients do not respond at all.

Plimack and other researchers thought to test this mechanism and determine which doses are safe and tolerable in combination. Ridaforolimus 20mg daily plus vorinostat 100 mg daily is the recommended phase II dose for this combination.