[Immunotherapy for renal cell carcinoma - current status]

Systemic treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) has substantially changed during the last 2 years due to approval of the immune-checkpoint inhibitor Nivolumab (Opdivo^®) and new multikinase inhibitors (Cabozantinib, Lenvatinib, Tivozanib). The german kidney tumor guideline strongly recommends Nivolumab and Cabozantinib as 2nd line treatments after prior VEGF targeted therapy. CheckMate 025, the prospective randomized trial which led to approval of Nivolumab demonstrated improved overall survival (26 month vs. 19.7 month; hazard ratio 0.73; p = 0.0006) and response rate (26 % vs. 5 %) as well as a favorable toxicity profile compared with Everolimus. Currently, numerous combinations with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors are compared to Sunitinib as first line treatment of mRCC. Out of these CheckMate 214, a randomized phase-3 trial is the first to demonstrate a significant higher objective response rate (42 % vs. 27 %, p < 0.0001) and overall survival (Sunitinib 26.0 month, median for Nivo + Ipi has been not yet reached (28.2 - NR); Hazard ratio 0.63) for the combination of Nivolumab and the CTLA-4 antibody Ipilimumab in IMDC intermediate and high risk patients. Furthermore, CheckMate 214 shows better side effect profile and quality of life in patients receiving Nivolumab and Ipilimumab compared with Sunitinib. However, a considerable increase of immune related adverse events is associated with the immune combination therapy. Another randomized trial demonstrates improved progression-free survival for the combination of the PD-L1 inhibitor Atezolizumab and the VEGF antibody Bevacizumab in patients with PD-L1 positive tumors; this was found in all IMDC risk groups. Further phase-3 trials with "new" VEGFR-TKIs (Axitinib, Cabozantinib, Lenvatinib) and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor combinations are ongoing.In conclusion, the PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor Nivolumab will remain a standard treatment for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma after prior VEGF targeted therapy. Nivolumab in combination with Ipilimumab will become a standard 1st line option for patients with intermediate and high risk profile according to IMDC. Further data are required regarding PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in combination with Bevacizumab and VEGFR-TKIs, respectively, including overall survival and side effect profile.