PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in renal cell cancer

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Immunotherapy using checkpoint inhibitors is providing significant benefit to patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), both in overall survival and tolerability of treatment. Given the recent approval of the first checkpoint inhibitor in RCC, this review discusses the background and clinical data for checkpoint inhibition in RCC.

Areas covered: This review introduces and discusses the basic biologic mechanisms of checkpoint inhibitor function and focuses on the current evidence in clinical trials for the use of immunotherapy in RCC.

Expert commentary: Immunotherapy has been a mainstay of therapy in RCC, but the recent approval of nivolumab with ORR of 25% and durable responses has provided a transformative new therapeutic option.

KEYWORDS:

• Renal cell
• PD-1
• PD-L1
• nivolumab
• atezolizumab
• pembrolizumab

Declaration of interest

DB Johnson is on the advisory board for Genoptix and BMS. JA Sosman serves on advisory boards for Merck, Genentech, and Array. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.