A recent phase I/II clinical trial with PT2977, a hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α inhibitor, has shown encouraging anti-tumour activity with a favourable safety profile in patients with previously-treated advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Of the 55 patients who were treated with the HIF-2α inhibitor, 12 patients (22%) had a confirmed partial response. The study is still ongoing and 36% of patient remain on the study. Median progression-free survival (PFS) has not yet been reached.

The HIF-2α inhibitor was well tolerated and the most common adverse event was anaemia. Two patients discontinued treatment for drug-related adverse events and three other patients required dose reductions for drug-related adverse events.

“The data from this trial indicate that HIF-2α inhibition has the potential to become a promising new treatment option for patients with renal cancer,” said Dr Choueiri, the lead researcher. “The data show that PT2977 can provide clinically meaningful responses in heavily pre-treated patients with a favourable safety and tolerability profile.”

Read more in Pipeline Review here