This meta-analysis of first-line immunotherapy trials was published in the journal Cancers last month. The analysis compares the three active first-line treatment combinations for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and provides guidance in the selection of treatment for previously untreated patients.

Three combination treatments were compared; pembrolizumab plus axitinib, avelumab plus axitinib and nivolumab plus ipilimumab. Pembrolizumab/axitinib and avelumab/axitinib appear to be equally effective in terms of progression-free survival, but both these combinations performed better than nivolumab/ipilimumab. For overall survival, pembrolizumab/axitinib is the most effective of the three combinations, while avelumab/axitinib has the best objective response rate. The study concluded that the pembrolizumab/axitinib combination is the most effective of the three regimens overall.

Read more in Practice Update here