A recent study, published in The Lancet Oncology, has provided evidence of the effectiveness of cabozantinib for patients with non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

This real world study identified 112 patients with non-clear cell RCC treated with cabozantinib at hospitals in the USA and Belgium. Most had papillary histology (66 patients, 59%), 17 (15%) had Xp11.2 translocation histology, 15 (13%) had unclassified histology, ten (9%) had chromophobe histology, and four (4%) had collecting duct histology.

From all 112 patients, 30 (27%) achieved an objective response, median progression-free survival was 7·0 months, and median overall survival was 12·0 months. Cabozantinib was well tolerated, the most common adverse events being fatigue and diarrhoea, and there were no treatment-related deaths.

This study shows that cabozantinib is effective and safe for people with non-clear cell RCC. However, more prospective studies are needed to improve outcomes for these patients.

Read more in The Lancet Oncology here