Dr. Meric-Bernstam Discusses Novel Combination in RCC

Funda Meric-Bernstam, MD, chair, Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, medical director, Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy, professor of medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses preliminary data with a novel combination in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

In a phase I study presented at the 2019 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, the glutaminase inhibitor CB-839 was combined with the VEGF TKI cabozantinib (Cabometyx). Meric-Bernstam says that preliminary efficacy looks promising and that the combination had a similar toxicity profile to cabozantinib alone.

Of the 13 patients enrolled in the study, 12 were evaluable for response. Objective response rate (ORR) in the general population of patients with RCC was 42%. Of the 10 patients with clear-cell RCC, the ORR was 50%. Moreover, the combination led to durable responses in a heavily pretreated patient population, Meric-Bernstam adds. Five patients remained on therapy for 14 months or longer, and 3 patients remained on treatment at the time of data cut-off. Notably, some patients demonstrated delayed response, so longer-term follow-up will paint a clearer picture of the durability of these responses, says Meric-Bernstam.