The OncLive Immunotherapy in GU Cancers condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and expert insights on available and investigational immunotherapies in genitourinary malignancies, specifically prostate cancer, urothelial carcinoma, and renal cell carcinoma. This page features news articles, interviews in written and video format, and podcasts that focus on updates with checkpoint inhibitors and the ongoing research with this type of treatment.
November 1st 2023
Adjuvant treatment with pembrolizumab significantly improved overall survival vs placebo in patients with renal cell carcinoma at intermediate-high or high risk of recurrence after nephrectomy, or after nephrectomy and resection of metastatic lesions, meeting a key secondary end point of the phase 3 KEYNOTE-564 trial.
Investigators Pursue the Role of the Microbiome on Immunotherapy Treatment in RCC
Pedro C. Barata, MD, MSc, discusses the importance of further exploring the facets of manipulating the microbiome to augment responses with immunotherapy in RCC, as well as the promise of the bifidogenic live bacterial product, CBM588.
Determining the Optimal Use of Adjuvant Immunotherapy in Renal Cell Carcinoma
June 19th 2023Kidney and renal pelvis cancers are one of the 10 most common new malignant diagnoses in both men and women in the United States, with an estimated 52,360 new cases in men and 29,440 new cases in women per year.
TKI/Immunotherapy Combinations Expand RCC Treatment Options
February 12th 2023Rohit Kumar, MD, discusses the benefits of TKI/immunotherapy doublets in renal cell carcinoma, unmet needs regarding future research with triplet therapies in the frontline setting, and how hypoxia inducible factor inhibitors may play a role in the treatment of patients who have progressed on prior TKI/immunotherapy combinations.
CYNK-101 Plus Avelumab Mediates ADCC Activity in Select PD-L1+ Solid Tumors
CYNK-101 demonstrated synergistic activity when used in combination with avelumab through antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity against PD-L1–positive non–small cell lung cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, and bladder cancer cell lines, according to preclinical data.
Nivolumab/Cabozantinib Continues to Showcase Deep, Durable Responses in Advanced RCC
October 11th 2021Nivolumab plus cabozantinib continued to significantly improve overall response rate vs sunitinib in patients with previously untreated, advanced renal cell carcinoma, with meaningful response outcomes observed irrespective of dose modifications with cabozantinib and fewer responders in the doublet arm requiring subsequent treatment.
RNAi Therapy ARO-HIF2 Shows Early Activity, Tolerability in Heavily Pretreated Clear Cell RCC
The investigational RNA interference therapy, ARO-HIF2, was shown to have encouraging signals of activity with favorable tolerability in heavily pretreated patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma.
Adjuvant Nivolumab Improves DFS in High-Risk Muscle-Invasive Urothelial Cancer
June 14th 2021Adjuvant nivolumab led to a significant improvement in disease-free survival compared with placebo in patients with high-risk muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma following radical surgery, irrespective of PD-L1 expression level.
FDA Panel Endorses Atezolizumab for Frontline Metastatic Urothelial Cancer
April 28th 2021In a 10 to 1 vote, the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted to support the accelerated approval of atezolizumab for the frontline treatment of patients with cisplatin-ineligible locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma.
ODAC Hearings on 6 Immunotherapy Indications Set to Begin
April 26th 2021The FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee is poised to move forward this week with a public review of 6 indications for immune checkpoint inhibitors granted under the agency’s accelerated approval process that later failed to reach thresholds for statistical significance for key end points in confirmatory clinical trials.
CheckMate-9ER Sets the Bar for Research With Triplets, Response-Guided Therapy in mRCC
April 2nd 2021Data from the phase 3 CheckMate-9ER trial has not only confirmed the advantage of cabozantinib plus nivolumab in terms of progression-free survival, overall survival, and responses vs sunitinib in the frontline treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, but it has served as additional incentive to push the needle even further with research aimed at evaluating triplet regimens in the frontline setting and response-guided sequencing strategies.
Immunotherapy is now incorporated into National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines as maintenance therapy and in a sequencing strategy for the treatment of patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma and in the setting of superficial UC-carcinoma in situ with prior intravesical therapy.
FDA Will Reassess 6 Immunotherapy Accelerated Approvals
March 12th 2021Six indications for immune checkpoint inhibitors granted under the FDA’s accelerated approval process that later failed confirmatory clinical trials are being reassessed as the agency continues an industry-wide evaluation of the pathway.
NEJM Data Underscore Frontline Nivolumab/Cabozantinib Benefit Over Sunitinib in Advanced RCC
The combination of nivolumab and cabozantinib showcased significant benefit in terms of progression-free survival, overall survival, and responses vs sunitinib in the frontline treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, as was underscored in data from the phase 3 CheckMate-9ER trial.
Cabozantinib/Nivolumab Approaches EU Approval for Frontline Advanced RCC
The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has adopted a positive opinion for the combination of cabozantinib plus nivolumab for use as a frontline treatment in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.
Atezolizumab Demonstrates Clinical Activity in PD-L1–High Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma
February 12th 2021February 12, 2021 - Atezolizumab monotherapy showed favorable outcomes compared with chemotherapy alone as frontline treatment for patients with cisplatin-ineligible IC2/3 advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma.
Frontline Immunotherapy Correlates With Improved OS Over TKIs in Advanced Non–Clear Cell RCC
February 11, 2021 - First-line treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitor–based regimens could be linked with an improvement in overall survival versus select targeted therapies in patients with metastatic non–clear cell renal cell carcinoma.
Immunotherapy Finds a Foothold in Metastatic Bladder Cancer, But Frontline Challenges Remain
December 14th 2020The emergence of checkpoint inhibitors has transformed the second-line treatment of patients with metastatic bladder cancer. However, questions regarding the utility of immunotherapy in the frontline setting remain unanswered, leaving chemotherapy as the standard-of-care option.
Choosing Among First-Line IO/TKI Combos in RCC: The Affordable Option Is the Winner
November 7th 2020Combination regimens comprised of immunotherapy and TKI inhibitors have yielded significant benefits in terms of overall survival and progression-free survival with acceptable safety in patients with renal cell carcinoma; however, the cost of these regimens may negate the impact of these advances.
Lenvatinib/Pembrolizumab Shows Promise After PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibition in Metastatic Clear Cell RCC
The combination of lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab demonstrated encouraging antitumor activity in patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma who had progressed on prior PD-1 or PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.
Novel PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitor Combo Promotes Antitumor Activity in Urothelial Carcinoma
September 18th 2020The investigational PD-L1 inhibitor BGB-A333 in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab demonstrated marked antitumor activity, durable clinical responses, and a tolerable safety profile in patients with urothelial carcinoma.