Results from the phase 3 COSMIC-313 trial showed that adding cabozantinib to nivolumab plus ipilimumab for patients with previously untreated advanced kidney cancer with with moderate to high-risk disease significantly improved the time to when the treatment stopped working and the cancer started growing again (progression-free survival, PFS).

nivolumab plus ipilimumab, cabozantinib plus the immunotherapies resulted in a 27% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death. After an average follow-up time of about 19 months, the time to when the treatment stopped working and the cancer started growing again was not reached in the triple combination group, and was 11.3 months in the nivolumab plus ipilimumab group. It is too early in the trial to know overall survival times, and the trial is ongoing to collect this information. The cancer got smaller in 43% of the patients who were on the triple combination, compared to 36% on ipilimumab plus nivolumab.

Serious or life-threatening side effects were reported by 79% of patients taking the triple combination and 56% on ipilimumab plus nivolumab. 45% and 24% of patients stopped treatment because of side effects in the triple combination group and ipilimumab plus nivolumab group, respectively.

In summary, the triple combination of cabozantinib, nivolumab and ipilimumab significantly improved the time to when the treatment stopped working and the cancer started growing again compared to ipilimumab plus nivolumab in patients with previously untreated advanced kidney cancer with moderate- to high-risk disease.

There were no new side effects reported compared to previous trials using the medicines alone or in combination. The study continues to collect survival information.

Read more in Urology Times here