Real-World Data on the Use of Nivolumab Monotherapy in the Treatment of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma after Prior Therapy: Interim Results from the Noninterventional NORA Study

Nephrotoxicity of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Single and Combination Therapy-A Systematic and Critical Review

Background/Objectives: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have generated a revolutionary approach in the treatment of cancer, but their effectiveness has been compromised by immune-related adverse events, including renal damage. Although rare, these effects are relevant because they have been related to poor patient prognoses. The objective of this review was to estimate the current incidence of nephrotoxicity in patients treated with single and double ICI therapies. Methods: A total of 1283 potential articles were identified, which were reduced to 50 after applying the exclusion and inclusion criteria. Results: This study reveals the increase in acute kidney injury associated with these drugs in the last decade and shows that, interestingly, combined therapies with ICIs does not lead to an increase in kidney damage compared with anti-CTLA-4. It also suggests that kidney damage could be underdiagnosed when it comes to interstitial nephritis, because definitive evidence requires a renal biopsy. Conclusions: In perspective, these conclusions could guide clinicians in making decisions for therapy personalization and highlight the need to search for new diagnostic systems that are more sensitive and specific to the type of damage and could replace the biopsy.

Nivolumab plasma concentration and clearance associated with overall survival in patients with renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Nivolumab is an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) that selectively inhibits programmed cell death protein 1 activation, restoring antitumor immunity. ICIs are indicated for various types of advanced solid tumors; however, not all patients benefit from them, and tools that could be used in the clinic to predict response to treatment represent an unmet need. Here we describe the development of a new population pharmacokinetic (PPK) model in patients treated with nivolumab in clinical trials. Applying the model to a patient population with renal cell carcinoma identified nivolumab clearance and plasma concentration as predictors of overall survival (OS).

METHODS

A custom liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry method for quantifying nivolumab plasma concentration was developed and validated following the European Medicines Agency guidelines for bioanalytical method validation. The PPK model was developed using data from patients treated in the NIVIPIT (n=38) and NIVOREN (n=137) trials of nivolumab in metastatic melanoma and renal cell carcinoma, respectively. The PPK model was used to determine pharmacokinetic (PK) parameters such as baseline clearance and simulate individual clearance changes over time. The relationship between PK characteristics (including clearance at Cycle 1 (CLC1), plasma concentration at Cycle 3 and clinical outcomes was assessed in 137 patients treated in NIVOREN. Kaplan-Meier methodology was used in time-to-event analyses.

RESULTS

In 137 patients, the median nivolumab CLC1 was 6 mL/hour and the median plasma concentration at Cycle 3 was 48 µg/mL. Median follow-up was 21.0 months (95% CI 20.2 to 22.5 months) with a survival rate at 6 months of 91.2% and 77.9% at 12 months. In univariate analysis, OS was significantly higher in patients with CLC1<6 mL/hour versus ≥6 mL/hour (HR 2.2 (95% CI 1.2 to 4.1), p=0.0146). Shorter OS was observed in patients with plasma concentration at Cycle 3 below the median (48 µg/mL) versus those above the median (HR 0.4 (95% CI 0.2 to 0.8), p=0.0069). Multivariate analysis showed a trend towards lower clearance, but this did not reach statistical significance (p=0.0694).

CONCLUSIONS

Results of the study may potentially be used to predict outcomes of nivolumab therapy in patients with renal cell carcinoma. Additional applications may include guiding dose adjustments of nivolumab in those who are less likely to respond to the initial dose.

Nivolumab in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma in France: interim results of the observational, real-world WITNESS study

BACKGROUND

Nivolumab is the first immune checkpoint inhibitor approved in Europe for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC) in patients resistant to prior antiangiogenic therapy. WITNESS is an ongoing, prospective, observational study designed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of nivolumab in patients with aRCC treated in real life (or routine practice) in France (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03455452).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This study includes adult patients with a confirmed diagnosis of aRCC who have initiated nivolumab after 1-2 prior lines of antiangiogenic therapy. Endpoints include overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), duration of treatment (DOT), duration of response (DOR), overall response rate (ORR), subgroup analyses, and treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs). Results after a median follow-up of 12.3 months are presented here.

RESULTS

A total of 325 patients with aRCC were included, of whom 38.2% had a Karnofsky score <80, 77.8% received nivolumab as second-line therapy, and 69.5% had undergone a previous nephrectomy. In the overall population, median OS was 20.5 [95% confidence interval (CI) 17.6-25.0] months and median PFS was 5.2 (95% CI 4.5-5.9) months. ORR was 34.5%, median DOT was 3.8 months, and median DOR was 16.5 months. Nivolumab was effective in different subgroups including patients with bone or glandular metastases and those receiving baseline corticosteroids. Moreover, effectiveness was observed irrespective of prior nephrectomy and line of treatment. No new safety signals were identified; TRAEs of any grade were reported in 32.0% of patients, grade ≥3 and serious TRAEs in 11.1% each, and TRAEs leading to discontinuation in 8.9%.

CONCLUSIONS

Preliminary results of the ongoing WITNESS study confirm the real-world effectiveness and safety of nivolumab monotherapy in previously treated patients with aRCC. Treatment benefits were similar to those observed in the pivotal phase III CheckMate 025 randomized clinical trial, despite a broader, real-life study population.

Reasonability of Frequent Laboratory Analyses during Therapy with Nivolumab and Nivolumab+Ipilimumab in Patients with Advanced or Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma during the Phase 2 Clinical Trial TITAN-RCC

In clinical trials, laboratory values are assessed with high frequency. This can be stressful for patients, resource intensive, and difficult to implement, for example in office-based settings. In the prospective, multicentre phase 2 TITAN-RCC trial (NCT02917772), we investigated how many relevant changes in laboratory values would have been missed if laboratory values had been assessed less frequently. Patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (n = 207) received a response-based approach with nivolumab and nivolumab+ipilimumab boosts for non-response. We simulated that laboratory values were obtained before every second dose instead of every dose of the study drug(s). We assessed elevated leukocyte counts, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, bilirubin, creatinine, amylase, lipase, and thyroid-stimulating hormone. Dose delay and discontinuation criteria were defined according to the study protocol. With the reduced frequency of laboratory analyses, dose delay criteria were rarely missed: in a maximum of <0.1% (3/4382) of assessments (1% [2/207] of patients) during nivolumab monotherapy and in a maximum of 0.2% (1/465) of assessments (1% [1/132] of patients) during nivolumab+ipilimumab boosts. An exception was lipase-related dose delay which would have been missed in 0.6% (25/4204) of assessments (7% [15/207] of patients) during nivolumab monotherapy and in 0.8% (4/480) of assessments (3% [4/134] of patients) during nivolumab+ipilimumab boosts, but would have required the presence of symptoms. Discontinuation criteria would have only been missed for amylase (<0.1% [1/3965] of assessments [0.5% (1/207) of patients] during nivolumab monotherapy, none during nivolumab+ipilimumab boosts) and lipase (0.1% [5/4204] of assessments [2% (4/207) of patients] during nivolumab monotherapy; 0.2% [1/480] of assessments [0.7% (1/134) of patients] during nivolumab+ipilimumab boosts). However, only symptomatic patients would have had to discontinue treatment due to amylase or lipase laboratory values. In conclusion, a reduced frequency of laboratory testing appears to be acceptable in asymptomatic patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with nivolumab or nivolumab+ipilimumab.

All-cause and immune checkpoint inhibitor-associated acute kidney injury in immune checkpoint inhibitor users: a meta-analysis of occurrence rate, risk factors and mortality

Background

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been associated with acute kidney injury (AKI). However, the occurrence rate of ICI-related AKI has not been systematically examined. Additionally, exposure to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were considered as risk factors for AKI, but with inconclusive results in ICI-related AKI. Our aim was to analyse the occurrence rate of all-cause AKI and ICI-related AKI and the occurrence rates of severe AKI and dialysis-requiring AKI, and to determine whether exposure to PPIs and NSAIDs poses a risk for all-cause and ICI-related AKI.

Methods

This study population was adult ICI recipients. A systematic review was conducted by searching MEDLINE, Embase and PubMed through October 2023. We included prospective trials and observational studies that reported any of the following outcomes: the occurrence rate of all-cause or ICI-related AKI, the relationship between PPI or NSAID exposure and AKI development or the mortality rate in the AKI or non-AKI group. Proportional meta-analysis and pairwise meta-analysis were performed. The evidence certainty was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework.

Results

A total of 120 studies comprising 46 417 patients were included. The occurrence rates of all-cause AKI were 7.4% (14.6% from retrospective studies and 1.2% from prospective clinical trials). The occurrence rate of ICI-related AKI was 3.2%. The use of PPIs was associated with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.77 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.43-2.18] for all-cause AKI and an OR of 2.42 (95% CI 1.96-2.97) for ICI-related AKI. The use of NSAIDs was associated with an OR of 1.77 (95% CI 1.10-2.83) for all-cause AKI and an OR of 2.57 (95% CI 1.68-3.93) for ICI-related AKI.

Conclusions

Our analysis revealed that approximately 1 in 13 adult ICI recipients may experience all-cause AKI, while 1 in 33 adult ICI recipients may experience ICI-related AKI. Exposure to PPIs and NSAIDs was associated with an increased OR risk for AKI in the current meta-analysis.

Successful long-term management of metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma with nivolumab: a case report and literature review

In Colombia, renal cancer is a rare condition, with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) being the most prevalent neoplasm. In recent years, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have been proposed for the management of metastatic disease, as they have shown improved rates of response and long-term survival. Furthermore, they exhibit a favourable tolerance profile, and adverse events causing significant morbidity are infrequent. We report the case of a 61-year-old male patient initially diagnosed with early-stage ccRCC who underwent right nephrectomy in 2009. Six years later, disease recurrence with metastatic compromise was documented, which led to the resection of the L1 vertebral body followed by radiotherapy and maintenance treatment with sunitinib. Due to disease progression, treatment with sunitinib was discontinued. Subsequently, everolimus was initiated as second-line immunotherapy, which was later discontinued due to the appearance of new metastatic lesions. In 2017, the patient was referred to our institution, where a third-line pharmacological treatment with nivolumab was initiated. In 2022, complete remission by positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) was evidenced, which has been sustained to date. This case demonstrates the efficacy and safety of ICI in patients with metastatic ccRCC. The case presented is relevant in that it describes the achievement of complete remission in a patient who did not respond to the first two lines of immunotherapy. Given the limited literature regarding the discontinuation of therapy after achieving sustained remission, further research is warranted to explore this topic.

Real world data on IO-based therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma

PURPOSE

Immune-based (IO)-combinations are the backbone in the systemic therapy of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). Despite phase III clinical trial data, real world data are of special importance to reflect clinical practice.

METHODS

This retrospective study included 201 mRCC patients receiving first-line systemic therapy from January 2006. Clinicopathological and treatment-related data were recorded. Progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Kaplan-Meier analysis.

RESULTS

Over the years, IO-based therapies have increased significantly. The collective comprises 76 patients with first-line IO-based therapy (IO-IO:55, TKI-IO:21) and 125 patients with TKI-monotherapy. PFS was significantly improved with TKI-IO combinations if compared to both TKI-monotherapy (23.9 vs. 10.3 months, HR 0.48, p = 0.034) and IO-IO combination (23.9 vs. 6.1 months, HR 0.37, p = 0.012). OS for TKI-IO treated patients was longer compared to TKI-monotherapy (HR 0.37, p = 0.050) at median follow-up of 24.1 versus 29.9 months. In a subanalysis of nivolumab treated patients, starting from second-line (n = 40), PFS was 5.5 months. The addition of nivolumab either in second-or later lines improved OS compared to repeated TKI- or mTOR-therapies alone (6.13 vs. 2.61 years, HR 0.46, p = 0.003).

CONCLUSION

Both first-line IO-based combinations and nivolumab after first-line TKI-monotherapy prolong OS in a real-world setting.

Outcomes of nivolumab monotherapy for previously treated metastatic renal cell carcinoma: a real-world multi-institution data with a minimum of 2 years of follow-up

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the long-term follow-up outcomes of nivolumab monotherapy for previously treated metastatic renal cell carcinoma, using real-world data.

METHODS

A total of 121 patients were treated with nivolumab monotherapy as subsequent therapy after the failure of prior tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy between January 2013 and December 2021 at four affiliated institutions. To evaluate the outcome after 2 years or more, we selected patients in whom nivolumab therapy was started in December 2019 or earlier because data collection was performed until the end of December 2021.

RESULTS

Seventy-four patients were evaluated. During the median follow-up period of 25.8 months, 62 (84%) and 40 (54%) patients had disease progression and died, respectively. Nivolumab was administered as second-line therapy in 43 patients (58%). The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 5.52 and 31.1 months, respectively, and objective response rate was 36%. There was no difference in progression-free survival or overall survival based on the treatment line of nivolumab (P = 0.915, P = 0.559). The magnitude of tumor response and development of immune-related adverse events were significantly associated with progression-free survival (P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, respectively) and overall survival (P < 0.0001, P = 0.0002, respectively). Treatment-related adverse events developed in 38 patients (51%), including 33 (45%) who had immune-related adverse events. Steroid administration was needed in nine patients (12%).

CONCLUSIONS

The present real-world multi-institution study with long-term follow-up data demonstrates that nivolumab monotherapy is effective for previously treated metastatic renal cell carcinoma, prolonging survival, improving tumor response and has a manageable safety profile.