Dr. McKay on the Design of the PDIGREE Trial in Advanced RCC

Rana R. McKay, MD, assistant professor of medicine and medical oncologist at the University of California, San Diego, discusses the design of the phase 3 PDIGREE study in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

The PDIGREE trial is evaluating standard nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy), says McKay. Patients who achieve a complete response (CR) will continue on nivolumab maintenance therapy while patients who have progressive disease will discontinue immunotherapy and receive cabozantinib (Cabometyx).

Patients who do not have a CR or progressive disease will be randomized to receive the combination of nivolumab and cabozantinib or nivolumab alone, adds McKay.

The study could provide insight on whether sequencing checkpoint inhibitors is optimal for patients with RCC, says McKay. Moreover, in the context of the CheckMate-9ER study investigating frontline nivolumab/cabozantinib, findings from the PDIGREE trial could have profound clinical implications.