Dr. McKay on Future Directions For mRCC Research

Rana R. McKay, MD, medical oncologist, associate professor of medicine, Moores Cancer Center, UC San Diego Health, discusses the potential impact of triplet therapies in the treatment paradigm for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) and identifies several other areas for further study. 

The impact of triplet therapy in mRCC is becoming more pronounced, McKay states. For example, initial data from the phase 3 COSMIC-313 trial (NCT03937219, which evaluated the addition of cabozantinib (Cabometyx) to nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) in this patient population, demonstrated improved progression-free survival with the combination compared with nivolumab/ipilimumab alone. 

Although this was a positive trial, overall survival data are still needed, McKay notes. It is important to note the toxicities associated with the regimen, McKay adds. With toxic regimens, the amount of treatment administered may be compromised; this can then affect the efficacy derived from the approach, according to McKay.

Beyond COSMIC-313, there is not a lot of ongoing phase 3 research that is anticipated to transform the frontline treatment landscape, McKay adds. Now, efforts are focused on optimizing the use of current approaches through improved patient selection and sequencing, McKay concludes.