Dr. Zibelman on Combinations of Immunotherapy for RCC

Matthew R. Zibelman, MD, assistant professor, Department of Hematology/Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses immunotherapy combinations in the treatment of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Recently, data about nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) showed a benefit in the first-line treatment of patients with RCC, states Zibelman. There is a high chance that this is going to be a combination that will be used in standard practice soon. The combinations with immunotherapy and the oral TKIs are very promising and may be better tolerated. As time goes on, it will be between those combinations and attempting to identify which groups are better for one versus the other, explains Zibelman.

According to Zibelman, it is more toxic to give the combination. Ipilimumab plus nivolumab clearly has an increased toxicity, which limits it. About 40% of patients seem to have significant side effects, which needs to be taken into consideration. Combinations that have similar efficacy, but are even better tolerated, would a great asset to the treatment landscape, Zibelman adds.