medwireNews: In patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and untreated central nervous system (CNS) metastases, intracranial response to nivolumab monotherapy is restricted to those with a limited tumor burden, suggest phase II findings.
Among 34 evaluable patients enrolled in the GETUG-AFU 26 NIVOREN trial, treatment with nivolumab 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks elicited an intracranial response in 11.8%. All four responses were complete and lasted for a median of 7.2 months.
Of note, responses were only observed in individuals with a single lesion that was no larger than 10 mm at baseline, the researchers report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
In light of this “limited intracranial activity” of the PD-1 inhibitor, Laurence Albiges (Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Villejuif, France) and fellow investigators recommend that “[b]rain imaging and focal therapy should be considered before immune checkpoint inhibitors” in this patient population.
medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare. © 2019 Springer Healthcare part of the Springer Nature group