Dr. McGregor on Unmet Needs in Advanced RCC

Bradley McGregor, MD, clinical director, Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology, senior physician, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and instructor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses unmet needs in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Despite the great responses that have been reported with combinations of immunotherapy and VEGF TKIs in the frontline setting, there are still patients with advanced RCC who don’t respond to treatment. Investigation into novel agents and targets may help bridge this gap, explains McGregor.

Several trials have been designed with this in mind. For example, there is a trial examining the use of cabozantinib (Cabometyx) with the glutaminase inhibitor CB-839. Early data suggest that there is no increase in toxicities and a great disease control rate with the combination. There are also data from trials looking at a HIF-2 inhibitor in combination with cabozantinib. Beyond this, researchers are investigating new targets to help patients who may not respond to the options that are currently available. There is a lot of anticipation to see what these targets hold, concludes McGregor.