Elizabeth Wulff-Burchfield, MD

Experts discuss how treatment sequencing in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) may evolve with the emergence of novel combinations and highlight emerging data from ASCO GU 2025 likely to impact clinical practice.

Experts discuss the role of belzutifan and tivozanib in the treatment paradigm for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), including key findings from the phase 3 LITESPARK-005 trial investigating belzutifan vs everolimus in previously treated advanced RCC patients.

Experts discuss key findings from the phase 3 CONTACT-03 trial investigating atezolizumab plus cabozantinib vs cabozantinib alone in inoperable advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC) after immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment, along with insights from real-world data on sequencing strategies and the efficacy of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) after prior ICI therapy.

Experts discuss emerging patterns of progression with current frontline regimens for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), differences between immunotherapy (IO)/IO and IO/tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) combinations, and how these progression patterns impact prognosis and subsequent therapy selection, considering whether the patient received IO/IO or IO/TKI in the first line and the clinical factors influencing later-line treatment decisions.

Experts discuss regimens with the most favorable toxicity profiles and how they personalize treatment to minimize patient burden, while also exploring preferred strategies for patients who have completed pembrolizumab in the adjuvant setting and how the timing of recurrence relative to adjuvant therapy completion influences treatment selection.

Experts discuss key factors influencing the decision between immunotherapy (IO)/IO and various IO/tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) combinations in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) treatment, including patient characteristics, risk stratification, PD-L1 status, and other clinical features, while also exploring the patient experience with IO-TKI regimens, strategies for managing adverse effects, and the approach to hepatotoxicity management.

Experts discuss the key findings from the final follow-up results of the CheckMate 9ER trial, evaluating nivolumab plus cabozantinib in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and share perspectives on the clinical implications of these updated data, along with insights from other studies of note, including LITESPARK-003 (belzutifan plus cabozantinib) and LITESPARK-024 (belzutifan plus palbociclib).

Experts discuss how emerging novel doublet regimens in the frontline setting for advanced renal cell carcinoma may address current unmet needs, highlighting specific biomarkers, patient populations, and clinical scenarios where these combinations could offer distinct advantages over existing standards like immunotherapy (IO)/IO or established IO/tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) combinations.

Experts discuss the 8-year follow-up data from the CheckMate 214 trial evaluating nivolumab plus ipilimumab for first-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and how these mature overall survival (OS) data influence the view of nivolumab plus ipilimumab as a frontline option, alongside insights from efficacy, safety, post hoc subgroup analyses (Albiges et al, Eur Urol, 2022), and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) data (Cella et al, J Clin Oncol, 2022).

Martin Voss, MD, elaborates on the impact of the KEYNOTE-564 trial and its recently presented data on the management of renal cell carcinoma, highlighting how these findings have influenced treatment decisions and patient care strategies.

Wenxin (Vincent) Xu, MD, presents the findings from the phase 3 CONTACT-03 trial, which compared the efficacy of atezolizumab in combination with cabozantinib versus cabozantinib alone in patients with inoperable advanced renal cell carcinoma who had previously received immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment.

Pedro Barata, MD, MSc, prompts the panel to share their opinions on which of the discussed clinical trials they find most promising and likely to influence clinical practice in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma.

Elizabeth Wulff-Burchfield, MD, facilitates a conversation about several clinical trials, such as STELLAR-001 and KEYNOTE-426, which investigate various treatment approaches for renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Martin Voss, MD, discusses the subgroup analysis of the COSMIC-313 study, which investigated the combination of nivolumab, ipilimumab, with or without cabozantinib (nivo + ipi +/- cabo), focusing on the potential advantages this treatment approach may offer for patients with intermediate to high-risk renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Wenxin (Vincent) Xu, MD, reviews recent analyses from the CLEAR study, which evaluated the combination of lenvatinib and pembrolizumab as a frontline treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

The panelists examine the latest findings from the CheckMate 214 trial, which assessed the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab (nivo + ipi) as a first-line treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma, focusing on efficacy, safety, and quality of life outcomes.

Dr. Pedro Barata, MD, MSc, provides an overview of advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC), discussing its typical presentation, the role of systemic therapies, and summarizing the first-line treatment options available for this condition.