Dr. Choueiri on the Impact of the JAVELIN Renal 101 Findings in RCC

Toni Choueiri, MD, director, Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology, director, Kidney Cancer Center, Jerome and Nancy Kohlberg Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the impact of the JAVELIN Renal 100 trial on the treatment landscape of renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

In results from the phase III JAVELIN Renal 101 trial, the combination of avelumab (Bavencio) and axitinib (Inlyta) showed a doubling of objective response rates and significantly improved progression-free survival compared with sunitinib (Sutent) in patients with treatment-naïve advanced RCC regardless of PD-L1 expression. Choueiri says that what is interesting about this study, is that patients seemed to benefit irrespective of subgroup. Toxicities were manageable, but immune-related toxicities should be closely watched, he adds.

The frontline setting of metastatic clear cell RCC remains extremely crowded with combinations, Choueiri says. In light of the JAVELIN Renal 101 findings, experts are now saying that avelumab plus axitinib could be a new standard of care. If approved, the combination will add to this complicated landscape, Choueiri says.