Combination therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Current therapy for metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) consists of the serial administration of single agents. Combinations of VEGF and mTOR inhibitors have been disappointing in previous randomized trials. However, the combination of lenvatinib, a multitargeted agent that inhibits VEGF as well as FGF receptors, and everolimus demonstrated promising results in a randomized phase II trial. Moreover, the emergence of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors has spawned the investigation of combinations of these agents with VEGF inhibitors and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) inhibitors. These ongoing phase III trials in conjunction with the development of predictive biomarkers and agents inhibiting novel therapeutic targets may provide much needed advances in this still largely incurable disease.