Every year, researchers from around the world gather at a meeting in America to present their findings from clinical research studies that they have been working on. This meeting is called the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting and was held from 30 may – 3 June 2025, in Chicago, USA.

The International Kidney Cancer Coalition (IKCC) has published a report to summarise the highlights of the clinical research studies that are relevant to the care and treatment of patients with kidney cancer.

Here are the ‘take home’ messages from the kidney cancer clinical research studies of most interest:

Take Home Messages

Abstract 4514 presented 5 -year follow-up results from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-564 study of adjuvant pembrolizumab. These results further support the use of 1 year adjuvant pembrolizumab as a standard treatment for patients with kidney cancer at high-risk of returning after surgery. 

Abstract e16520 presented an early study with a new immunotherapy for kidney cancer.  The initial data from this study show that toripalimab is a promising adjuvant treatment for patients with kidney cancer that is at high risk of recurrence or progression.

Abstract 4541 reported on a study of neoadjuvant combination treatment for kidney cancer. This study shows promising safety and effectiveness of neoadjuvant low dose lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab in patients with high-risk kidney cancer.

Abstract 4506 presents the results of a study with a new HIF-2a. Casdatifan was well tolerated and showed promising anti-cancer effectiveness in patients with advanced clear cell kidney cancer who had already been treated with anti-cancer medication. Importance: The data from this study support the continued testing of casdatifan in an ongoing phase 3 study.

In abstract 4515, a new VEGFR TKI called zanzalintinib in combination with nivolumab was shown to be well tolerated with a low rate of hand and foot syndrome in patients with untreated advanced/metastatic clear cell kidney cancer. Importance: The combination of zanzalintinib plus nivolumab shows promising anti-cancer activity in patients with untreated advanced/metastatic clear cell kidney cancer. Adding a third drug (relatlimab) did not provide extra benefit.

Abstract 4508 presents early results from one of the first CAR T cell therapy studies for kidney cancer. After an average follow-up of 7 months, CAR T cell therapy showed promising anti-tumour activity. Importance: Further clinical research is ongoing to evaluate CAR T cell therapy in patients with advanced clear cell kidney cancer.

In abstract 4529, the results from the first study of a product containing the bacterium Akkermansia were presented. The addition of Oncobax-AK to ipilimumab plus nivolumab appears to be safe and may regulate the bacteria in the gut microbiome, inflammation, metabolites and the immune cells of patients with intermediate- or poor-risk kidney cancer. Importance: This may lead to survival benefits in some patients. The study is continuing with more patients to find out how Oncobax-AK improves clinical outcomes.

Abstract 4505 provides an update on the results of an important study of combination treatments: CheckMate-214 provides the longest reported follow-up data from any immunotherapy combination treatment (9 years follow-up data from ipilimumab plus nivolumab) Importance: The ipilimumab plus nivolumab combination resulted in long-term survival and response to treatment compared to sunitinib in all patients with untreated advanced or metastatic kidney cancer, supporting the use of this combination as standard care.

Abstract 4540 provides an update on the results of another important combination study: TiNivo looked at the effectiveness of second-line tivozanib or tivozanib plus nivolumab after immunotherapy combinations and VEGFR-TKI plus immunotherapy combinations. Importance: There was no benefit from the addition of nivolumab to tivozanib in the second line.

Abstract 4522 suggests that ipilimumab plus nivolumab may be more effective than the standard care for non-clear cell kidney cancer patients. Importance: A key criticism of this study is that the standard care treatments are outdated, and newer combination treatments with immune and targeted therapies may be better than ipilimumab plus nivolumab. More data on these rare cancers are needed, requiring international studies for sufficient patient numbers.

Abstracts 4524 and e16508 reported on the safety and effectiveness of two new radio-labelled products 68Ga-NY104 and 68Ga-NYM005 to improve the sensitivity of PET/CT scans to detect and diagnose malignant tumours in the kidney and kidney cancer metastases. Importance: Both products show promise as patient-friendly, effective imaging agents for the diagnosis, staging and follow-up of clear cell kidney cancer patients.  

Abstract 411b describes a study with a new radioactive treatment for untreated metastatic kidney cancer, 177Lu girentuximab used in combination with nivolumab. Girentuximab is an antibody that is used to deliver radioactive lutetium (177Lu) directly to the cancer cells. This study hopes to show that damage to the tumour cell DNA caused by 177Lu girentuximab will activate the T cells of the immune system to attack the cancer cells. Importance: The study is already recruiting patients at sites in New York and New Jersey, USA.

The study presented in abstract e16539 showed that checking for certain immune cells in tumours before treatment could help predict how well patients will respond to immunotherapy. More research is needed to confirm this idea for regular medical use.

Abstract 4509 presented exploratory results from the NEOAVAX study of neoadjuvant avelumab plus axitinib. Patients who had prolonged disease-free survival following neoadjuvant treatment with avelumab plus axitinib had evidence of downsizing, pathologic response and immune cell infiltrates in their tumour tissue. However, most patients did not have a change in the immune cells in their tumours nor a pathologic response. Importance: This study is suggesting that responders to neoadjuvant therapy may be identified by a combination of clinicopathological response and immune cells in the tumour microenvironment. This single arm phase 2 study is not changing clinical practise but the concept warrants further investigation.

Abstract 4510 presented new results from IMmotion010 looking at the genes in kidney cancer tumours that progressed after adjuvant atezolizumab. Importance: These results showed that there were changes in the genes that may offer insights into why some patients relapse after adjuvant treatment, but KIM-1 remains the best predictor of treatment outcomes with adjuvant atezolizumab.

Abstract 4512 showed that higher blood levels of a protein called MAdCAM-1 were associated with improved outcomes to first-line treatments for metastatic kidney cancer. Importance: MAdCAM-1 is a promising prognostic biomarker for immunotherapy in patients with metastatic kidney cancer. Further international work is ongoing to look into these findings.

Visit the International Kidney Cancer Coalition (IKCC) website for the full report here