Open AccessAn Illustrative Case of Combination Cabozantinib/Nivolumab for Progressive Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma ( mRCC )
Author(s) -
Kao Chester,
George Daniel J.,
Zhang Tian
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
the oncologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.176
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1549-490X
pISSN - 1083-7159
DOI - 10.1002/onco.13617
Subject(s) - cabozantinib , nivolumab , medicine , sunitinib , renal cell carcinoma , pazopanib , tyrosine kinase inhibitor , oncology , refractory (planetary science) , cancer research , immunotherapy , cancer , physics , astrobiology
We report a case using combination cabozantinib plus nivolumab to salvage disease control in a patient with refractory metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The patient had previously experienced disease progression from high‐dose interleukin‐2, sunitinib, pazopanib, cabozantinib, and nivolumab, all given sequentially. Combination cabozantinib plus nivolumab resulted in 22 months of disease control. Vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors including cabozantinib have immunomodulatory effects when combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors, with multiple ongoing phase III trials exploring the cabozantinib plus nivolumab combination in the first‐line setting. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of progression on nivolumab and cabozantinib when given as sequential monotherapies but stable disease on combination cabozantinib plus nivolumab.