Dr. Sweis on Immunotherapy Combinations in Kidney Cancer

Randy F. Sweis, MD, instructor of medicine, University of Chicago Medicine, discusses immunotherapy combinations in kidney cancer.

Several combinations of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and immunotherapies are being tested in the frontline setting, explains Sweis, including bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with atezolizumab (Tecentriq). There are several others including pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus axitinib (Inlyta), lenvatinib (Lenvima) plus pembrolizumab, avelumab (Bavencio) plus axitinib, as well as cabozantinib (Cabometyx) plus nivolumab (Opdivo). Physicians are awaiting data from their phase III trials to see how the field plays out.

Several of those combinations have received FDA breakthrough designations, adds Sweis. It is going to become difficult to select patients for the appropriate therapy, especially with the lack of comparative data in the field. The future of frontline kidney cancer treatment will require comparative studies of immunotherapy combinations versus TKI therapy, and potentially of immunotherapies in combination with TKIs. Answering these questions will require cooperation across the country as well as internationally, concludes Sweis.