Inlyta Shows Promise for Metastatic Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Inlyta (axitinib) alone demonstrated better progression-free survival in patients with advanced or metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma compared to carotuximab (also known as TRC105) with Inlyta, according to data published in The Oncologist.

Inlyta is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor for the treatment of patients with kidney cancer. In particular, it blocks the action of a particular enzyme that take part in some cell functions including growth, signaling and division. Carotuximab is a novel chimeric monoclonal antibody, which focuses on reducing the ability of the antibody to produce an immune response.

In this phase 2 study, researchers sought to assess progression-free survival (length of time during and after treatment that the patient lives with the disease but it does not worsen) in patients with advanced or metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma who had disease progression following one or more prior VEGF inhibitors.

A total of 150 patients were assigned either Inlyta alone (75 patients; 49 men; median age, 63 years) or in combination with carotuximab (75 patients; 57 men; median age, 65 years).

Inlyta was administered orally at 5 milligrams twice daily, which then increased to the maximum dose of 10 milligrams twice daily if there was no toxicity or hypertension. Those in the combination group received the same regimen of Inlyta in addition to 10 milligrams of carotuximab intravenously every week.

Those receiving Inlyta alone demonstrated a longer progression-free survival time (median, 11.4 months) compared to carotuximab with Inlyta (median, 6.4 months).

However, those patients with low VEGF levels at the start of the study demonstrated longer progression-free survival when receiving treatment of carotuximab with Inlyta compared to those on Inlyta alone (22.4 months versus 16.9 months).

Both the combination and monotherapy were tolerated similarly, and there were no deaths related to treatment.

“Hopefully the lessons of this trial will guide more effective therapeutic development for patients with advanced RCC that has progressed on VEGF-targeted therapy,” the study authors wrote.

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