A recent study, called the Phase 3 LITESPARK-011 trial, looked at a new combination of two tablets, belzutifan and lenvatinib, for people with advanced kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma) whose cancer got worse after previous treatment. The study found that this new combination helped patients live longer without their cancer getting worse, compared to another treatment called cabozantinib. More patients also responded positively to the new combination.

There was a sign that the combination might help people live longer overall, but this was not proven at this stage of the study. More checks will be done in the future to confirm this result. The side effects seen with belzutifan and lenvatinib were similar to what has been seen before, and there were no new safety concerns.

Experts expressed hope that this combination could offer a new option for people with advanced kidney cancer who need more treatment choices after standard therapies have stopped working.

This trial is part of a larger research programme to find better treatments for kidney cancer and similar diseases. Belzutifan and lenvatinib are already approved in many countries for treating advanced kidney cancer, often after other treatments have been tried.

Read more in the Eisai press release here