2022 ESMO Meeting Reporter

Toni K. Choueiri, MD, provides perspective on key research in renal cell carcinoma, including the first demonstration of benefit with triplet therapy in metastatic clear cell disease, the expansion of HIF-2α inhibition into the first line, and success with VEGF/immune-oncology approaches in the non–clear cell population.

Immunotherapy-based combinations elicited higher complete response rates compared with VEGF-targeted therapy when used as first-line treatment in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Treatment with immunotherapy prior to the development of brain metastases improved the median overall survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

An analysis of patterns of care and outcomes for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma with bone metastases supported the role of TKIs as the standard of care.

Health-related quality of life was maintained following treatment with nivolumab in the second- or third-line settings in patients with previously treated metastatic renal cell carcinoma, according to findings from a real-world retrospective analysis.

Pembrolizumab plus axitinib produced promising responses in patients with papillary or chromophobe metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Higher baseline and longitudinal evaluations of health-related quality of life prior to and during treatment with nivolumab and cabozantinib demonstrated an association with improved progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with advanced, treatment-naïve renal cell carcinoma.

Frontline lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab displayed a promising overall response rate and disease control rate in patients with non–clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Belzutifan plus cabozantinib was well tolerated and demonstrated promising antitumor activity in patients with treatment-naïve advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Belzutifan plus cabozantanib sustained antitumor activity in patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma who previously received immunotherapy.

The presence of more than 2 tertiary lymphoid structures coupled with increased density of Ki-67 and PD-1 positivity was shown to be associated with an increased response rate and prolonged progression-free survival with the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab as frontline therapy in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

The triplet regimen of cabozantinib plus standard-of-care nivolumab and ipilimumab reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 27% vs placebo in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.

A tailored approach utilizing the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab as an immunotherapeutic boost following induction with single-agent nivolumab improved responses in the first and second line for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab showed sustained overall survival and progression-free survival benefit across poor- and intermediate-risk subgroups of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.