A multicenter study assessing survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy with and without cytoreductive nephrectomy.

Cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) was called into question following the publication of the CARMENA trial. While previous retrospective studies have supported CN alongside targeted therapies, there is minimal research establishing its role in conjunction with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy.

To evaluate the association between CN and oncological outcomes in patients with mRCC treated with immunotherapy.

A multicenter retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with mRCC between 2000 and 2020 who were treated at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and The Ohio State University and who were treated with ICI systemic therapy (ST) at any point in their disease course. Overall survival (OS) was estimated using Kaplan Meier analyses. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models evaluated associations with mortality.

The study cohort consisted of 367 patients (CN+ST n = 232, ST alone n = 135). Among patients undergoing CN, 30 were deferred. Median survivor follow-up was 28.4 months. ICI therapy was first-line in 28.1%, second-line in 17.4%, and third or subsequent line (3L+) in 54.5% of patients. Overall, patients who underwent CN+ST had longer median OS (56.3 months IQR 50.2-79.8) compared to the ST alone group (19.1 months IQR 12.8-23.8). Multivariable analyses demonstrated a 67% reduction in risk of all-cause mortality in patients who received CN+ST vs. ST alone (P < 0.0001). Similar results were noted when first-line ICI therapy recipients were examined as a subgroup. Upfront and deferred CN did not demonstrate significant differences in OS.

CN was independently associated with longer OS in patients with mRCC treated with ICI in any line of therapy. Our data support consideration of CN in well selected patients with mRCC undergoing treatment with ICI.

Urologic oncology. 2022 Oct 26 [Epub]

Evan E Gross, Mingjia Li, Ming Yin, Delaney Orcutt, Duncan Hussey, Elliot Trott, Sarah K Holt, Erin R Dwyer, Joel Kramer, Kaylee Oliva, John L Gore, George R Schade, Daniel W Lin, Scott S Tykodi, Evan T Hall, John A Thompson, Anish Parikh, Yuanquan Yang, Katharine A Collier, Abdul Miah, Sherry Mori-Vogt, Megan Hinkley, Amir Mortazavi, Paul Monk, Edmund Folefac, Steven K Clinton, Sarah P Psutka

The University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA., The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, The James Cancer Hospital Columbus, OH., Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH., Department of Urology, University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA., Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA; Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA., Department of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH., Department of Urology, University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, WA. Electronic address: .