Combining immune checkpoint inhibition plus tyrosine kinase inhibition as first and subsequent treatments for metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitor/tyrosine kinase inhibitor (ICI/TKI) combinations are a new standard of care for the initial treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Their efficacy and toxicity beyond the first-line setting remain poorly defined. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed charts for 85 adults with mRCC of any histology receiving combination of ICI/TKI in any line of treatment at two academic centers as of 05/01/2020. We collected clinical, pathological, and treatment-related variables. Outcomes including objective response rate (ORR), progression-free survival (PFS), and toxicity were analyzed via descriptive statistics and the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Patients received pembrolizumab, nivolumab, avelumab, or nivolumab-ipilimumab, with concurrent use of sunitinib, axitinib, pazopanib, lenvatinib, or cabozantinib. Thirty-three patients received first-line ICI/TKI therapy, while 52 received ≥ second-line ICI/TKI. The efficacy of ICI/TKI therapy decreased with increasing lines of treatment (ORR: 56.7%, 37.5%, 21.4%, and 21%; median PFS [mPFS]: 15.2, 14.2, 10.1, and 6.8 months, for first, second, third, and ≥ fourth line therapy, respectively). In the ≥ second-line setting, ICI/TKI was most useful in patients who received ICI only, with an ORR of 50% and a mPFS of 9.1 months. Efficacy was limited in patients who received both TKI and ICI previously, with an ORR of 20% and a mPFS of 5.5 months. Overall, ≥ second-line ICI/TKI was tolerable with 25 of 52 (52%) patients developing grade ≥3 adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: ICI/TKI combination therapy is feasible and safe beyond the first-line setting. Prior treatment history appears to impact efficacy but has a lesser effect on safety/tolerability.

Salvage nivolumab and ipilimumab after prior anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Salvage nivolumab and ipilimumab after prior anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy is frequently used off-label for clear cell metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). However, limited data are available to guide such therapy. We performed a meta-analysis to characterize further the safety and efficacy of salvage nivolumab and ipilimumab. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review in accordance with PRISMA. Studies of salvage nivolumab and ipilimumab in patients with mRCC published in English before June 1, 2021 were included. We also included patients treated at the Ohio State University from 2012 to 2020 through a retrospective chart review. The included studies were further stratified into adaptive and standard groups based on their designs. We calculated objective response rate (ORR) and adverse events (AEs) via pooled data and quantitative synthesis using the Stata metaprop procedure. A conservative random effect model was used to combine values. RESULTS: A total of 7 studies and 310 patients were included. Salvage nivolumab and ipilimumab had an ORR of 14% (95% CI, 0.09-0.21) and median progression-free survival ranged between 3.7 and 5.5 months. Four out of the seven studies were standard design, whereas the other three studies were adaptive. The ORR was numerically higher in the standard group compared with the adaptive group (21% and 9-10%, respectively). The responses to salvage nivolumab and ipilimumab did not correlate with the initial anti-PD-1/PD-L1 responses (odds ratio = 1.45; p = 0.5). Grade ≥3 AEs occurred in 26% of the patients (95% CI, 0.19-0.33). There were no new safety signals observed in this study. CONCLUSION: Salvage nivolumab and ipilimumab demonstrated moderate antitumor activity and a manageable safety profile in patients with mRCC who had prior anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: Patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma have limited treatment options after progressive disease on anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. The role of salvage nivolumab and ipilimumab in this patient population is poorly defined. The studies on this highly important and clinically relevant topic are limited by small sample sizes. The results from our meta-analysis suggest that nivolumab and ipilimumab are feasible in the salvage setting with moderate efficacy and acceptable toxicity profile. The response rates differ with different treatment designs. This information will be beneficial to guide clinical decision-making and accurately estimating toxicity.

Serum free light chains in myeloma patients with an intact M protein by immunofixation: potential roles for response assessment and prognosis during induction therapy with novel agents.

The ascertainment of serum free light chain (sFLC) levels has been shown to be valuable in screening for the presence of plasma cell dyscrasia as well as for baseline prognosis in newly diagnosed patients. For patients with amyloidosis and those with oligo-secretory or non-secretory multiple myeloma (MM), serial measurement of sFLC has also been shown to be valuable in monitoring disease status. However, in patients with a measureable, intact monoclonal protein by immunofixation (M protein), the serial measurement of sFLC remains undefined and is currently not recommended in professional guidelines. Herein, we provide data comparing sFLC with M protein as biomarkers of response in newly diagnosed patients with MM undergoing induction therapy with the novel agents thalidomide, lenalidomide and/or bortezomib. We show that although M protein appears to outperform sFLC comparatively over the course of induction therapy, the addition of FLC to M protein further informs the characterization of residual disease status post-induction. Moreover, sFLC at the time of stem cell mobilization appears to hold prognostic power for survival endpoints following high-dose chemotherapy/autologous stem cell transplant (HDC/SCT). These findings suggest potentially novel roles for sFLC in patients with MM with an intact M protein receiving novel agent-based induction strategies followed by HDC/SCT.