T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Consensus Statement Sets New Benchmark
for Immunotherapy Guidelines in RCC
s a new standard in the field, every patient should
receive an anti-PD-1-based therapy as initial treatment
unless there is a specific contraindication to this
approach. However, there remains a need for biomarkers
to better predict patient response and to help decide the
best treatment approach for each patient. Additionally, it
remains to be determined whether new IO combinations
including VEGFR TKIs will elicit properties of IO therapy,
enabling the patient the ability to stop treatment with
persistent benefit.”
These are among the conclusions of a comprehensive
and thoroughlyresearched consensus statement with special relevance to
those of us engaged in kidney cancer care. The document is The Society for
Immunotherapy of Cancer Consensus Statement on Immunotherapy
for the Treatment of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC).
Let’s start with the credentials of the group spearheading this initiative.
It was my privilege to serve among the 19 members of the Society for Immunotherapy
of Cancer (SITC) panel, a group with literally hundreds of
years of clinical practice and clinical trial experience. This subcommittee
included expert physicians, nurses, scientists, and a patient advocate who
regularly communicated via email, teleconference, and in-person between
September 2018 and June 2019 to review existing new data and determine
how to incorporate these results into updated RCC-specific consensus management
guidelines. These resulting recommendations are meant to provide
guidance to clinicians with the most up-to-date data and recommendations
on how to best integrate immunotherapy into the treatment paradigm
See treatment algorithm on page 30 for patients with advanced RCC.
The need for such a document has never been more imperative, especially
in view of the advances in IO therapy over the past decade. This overarching
need inspired us to apply our knowledge to improve the manage-
ment of patients with advanced RCC, including the emergence of IO in
combination with TKIs, appropriate patient selection considerations,
therapy
sequencing, response monitoring, adverse event management, and biomarker
application. We are proud to present our efforts in the Consensus
Statement and I urge you to review the recommendations referenced below.
The accompanying clinical algorithm reflects part of the meticulous
approach the panel followed in formulating the guidelines. But don’t stop
Editorial Mission
The purpose of Kidney Cancer Journal is to serve as a com-
prehensive resource of information for physicians regarding
advances in the diagnosis and treatment of renal cell carcinoma.
Content of the journal focuses on the impact of trans-
lational research in oncology and urology and also provides a
forum for cancer patient advocacy. Kidney Cancer Journal is
circulated to medical oncologists, hematologist-oncologists,
and urologists.
Editor-in-Chief
Robert A. Figlin, MD, FACP
Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology Oncology
Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Director, Division of Hematology Oncology
Deputy Director, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive
Cancer Institute
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, California
Medical Advisory Board
Michael B. Atkins, MD
Deputy Director
Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
Professor of Oncology and Medicine,
Georgetown University Medical Center
Washington, DC
Robert J. Motzer, MD
Attending Physician
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY
Brian Rini, MD
Chief of Clinical Trials
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, Tennessee
Christopher G. Wood, MD, FACS
Douglas E. Johnson, MD Professorship
Professor & Deputy Chairman
Department of Urology
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas
Nurse Advisory Board
Nancy Moldawer, RN, MSN
Nursing Director
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute
Los Angeles, California
Laura Wood, RN, MSN, OCN
Renal Cancer Research Coordinator
Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center
Cleveland, Ohio
Patient Advocate
Gretchen Vaughan
Chief Executive Officer
Kidney Cancer Association
Publishing Staff
Senthil Samy, PhD., Executive Editor & Publisher
Vinu Jyothi, MD, MPH., Director, Business Strategy
Stu Chapman, Editorial Consultant
Susan Hirschhaut, Director of Advertising and Strategic Initiatives
Michael McClain, Design Director
Director of Advertising
Susan Hirschhaut
(847) 476-0588
susan@datamedica.org
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Copyright 2020 Biomedz Global. All rights reserved. None of
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permission of the publisher.
About the Cover
Illustrations and images from this issue offer an exciting
glimpse at innovative strategies with potential impact on
clinical practice. At top are the mechanisms of a combination
using reformulated IL-2 therapy and a checkpoint inhibitor
under investigation in a pivotal trial. The role of hypoxia
inducible factor and VHL dysregulation is depicted in a second
image, highlighting the need to target upstream pathways.
Liquid biopsy is suggested in the image below, related to an
article analyzing how this biomarker could play a key role in
the precision medicine era.
Follow us on Twitter
@ KidneyCancerJ
4 Journal Club
6 Implications of VHL-HIF Pathway Dysregulation in Renal Cell Carcinoma:
Current Therapeutic Strategies and Challenges
12 Reinventing the Paradigm of IL-2 Therapy: Pivotal Trial Could Change the
Landscape of Combination Strategies in Advanced RCC
19 Back to Interleukin 2 After 4 Decades: Review of the History, Biology,
Novel Approaches and Clinical Trials
25 Is Circulating Tumor DNA Ready for Prime Time?
Evaluation of this Biomarker in the Era of Precision Medicine
E D I TO R ’S M E M O
(continued on page 30)
Robert A.
Figlin, MD
“A
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