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CURE’s kidney cancer page is an extensive resource of cancer information featuring the latest kidney cancer news, expert oncologist insights on the latest cancer treatments, oncology research, advocacy efforts, and medical data on kidney cancer.

It’s been a busy few weeks here at CURE® and in the oncology space as a whole, as the last two weekends had back-to-back meetings: the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 

Here are some highlights from the conference, but as always, you can find all of our coverage at curetoday.com.

Imfinzi, Avastin, TACE May ‘Set a New Standard of Care’ in Liver Cancer

For patients with liver cancer whose disease is not eligible to be removed via surgery, adding Imfinzi and Avastin to transarterial chemoembolization — also known as TACE — tended to lengthen the time patients lived before their disease got worse, according to findings from the EMRALD-1 trial. These improvements in progression-free survival over TACE alone could lead to a new standard of care for this patient population, according to the lead study author, Dr. Riccardo Lencioni.

More specifically, patients who received Imfinzi and Avastin plus TACE lived for a median of 15 months before death or disease worsening, compared to 8.2 months for patients who received TACE alone. This correlates to a 23% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death, and benefits were seen across different patient subgroups.

Notably, the researchers on EMRALD-1 are still monitoring how the addition of the two drugs impacts overall survival. Once those data become more clear, it is possible that the drug manufacturers could submit this regimen to the FDA for approval, thereby officially shaking up the standard of care of TACE, which has remained the main treatment in this setting for about two decades.

Cancer in Bloodstream May Predict CRC Outcomes

Circulating tumor DNA — also known as ctDNA — was another hot topic at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. So ctDNA measures little fragments of cancer that are found in the bloodstream after cancer treatment.

Now, findings from the BESPOKE trial highlight the fact that ctDNA may offer insight into the recurrence risk in patients with stage 2/3 colorectal cancer who underwent surgery and then chemotherapy. The researchers used ctDNA to help determine minimal residual disease, or MRD, status. Essentially, patients with disease still detected in the blood stream were MRD positive, while those without detectable cancer were MRD negative. Findings showed that those with MRD negativity tended to live longer without experiencing relapse or death compared to patients with MRD positivity.

Survival Benefits with Keytruda and Padcev in Advanced Urothelial Cancer

Back in December, the Food and Drug Administration approved Padcev plus Keytruda for patients with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer. The approval was based on primary findings from the EV-302 trial. Now, updated findings from that trial are showing that the drug duo continues to outperform chemotherapy when it comes to progression-free survival — that’s the time patients live before their disease gets worse — as well as overall survival, which is the time patients live before death of any cause.

Notably, these survival benefits were seen across patient subgroups, such as those with visceral metastases and lymph node-only disease. According to the lead study author, Dr. Michiel S. Van Der Heijden, this could result in a new standard of care in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

Many Patients Miss Out on Testing to Guide Prostate Cancer Treatment

On the prostate cancer front, a study found that many people with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer are not undergoing germline or somatic testing. Now this is really important because back in 2020, two PARP inhibitors were approved in this setting. These are targeted drugs approved for patients whose cancers have certain characteristics, which can be determined by these types of tests.

Rates of germline and somatic testing have increased since the FDA approvals, but according to the study — which looked at real-world evidence of patients being treated in community cancer and urology centers — about 40% of patients did not undergo standard-of-care testing.

Study author, Dr. Neal Shore, said that this indicates the need for improved education on the importance of germline and somatic testing.

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to 

Here are some of the top stories from the recent Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium as well as the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. 

Highlights from the Gastrointestinal and Genitourinary Cancer Conferences 

The FDA is certainly staying busy as 2023 comes to a close, approving three treatments for patients with cancer last week alone.

Additionally, exciting study findings were released regarding a cancer vaccine for the treatment of melanoma.

FDA Approves Iwilfin for High-Risk Neuroblastoma in Adults and Children

The FDA approved has Iwilfin (eflornithine) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma who have shown at least a partial response to a previous multiagent modality therapy, which includes anti-GD2 immunotherapy.

Notably, the FDA reported that this drug is the first approval of a therapy used to reduce the risk of relapse in children with high-risk neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma, as the National Cancer Institute explained on its website, is a cancer of immature nerve cells that most typically occurs in children, and often begins in the adrenal glands.

The FDA said the major efficacy outcome measure behind the approval was event-free survival (EFS; time after treatment when cancer does not come back or worsen; disease progression), while other notable findings included overall survival (OS; length of time from diagnosis or start of treatment when a patient is still alive).

FDA Approves Welireg for Advanced Kidney Cancer Subtype

The FDA approved Welireg ((beluztifan) for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have been previously treated with a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) or programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor, and a vascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (VEGF-TKI).

The approval was based on findings from the LITESPARK-005 trial. Trial findings presented earlier this year at the European Society of Medical Oncology Annual Congress (ESMO) showed that at a median follow-up of 18.4 months, patients treated with Welireg experienced objective response rates (patients whose disease responded partially or completely to treatment) of 21.9%, compared with 3.5% among patients treated with Afinitor (everolimus), and 12-month progression-free survival (PFS; the time a patient lives without their disease spreading or worsening) rates were 33.7% on Welireg versus 17.6% with Afinitor, and 18-month PFS rates were 22.5% and 9%, respectively.

FDA Approves Padcev-Keytruda Combo in Advanced Bladder Cancer

The FDA has additionally approved Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) plus Ketruda (pembrolizumab) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer. Alongside this, the FDA previously 

unable to be treated with cisplatin-containing chemotherapy

In the recent EV-302/KN-A39 trial, both OS and PFS showed significant improvements among the Padcev plus Keytruda group of patients, as the median overall survival for these patients was 31.5 months, while a cohort treated with chemotherapy experienced a median OS of 16.1 months.

Regarding progression-free survival, the median was 12.5 months for the Padcev-Keytruda combination group and 6.3 months in the chemotherapy group.

Cancer Vaccine Plus Keytruda Reduces Risk of Recurrence or Death in Melanoma

Patients with advanced-stage melanoma continue to experience reduced risk of recurrence or death following treatment with a combination of mRNA vaccine mRNA-4157 (V940), an investigational individualized neoantigen therapy (INT), and Keytruda, according to recent study findings.

The mRNA-4157 (V940) and Keytruda combination reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 49% and the risk of distant metastasis or death by 62% when compared with treatment with Keytruda alone in patients with stage 3 or 4 melanoma with high risk of recurrence following complete resection, as determined by 

 study, according to a news release from drug manufacturers Moderna and Merck.

The latest findings, from a median planned follow-up of approximately three years, build on previously announced primarily analysis data from a median planned follow-up of approximately two years which showed that the combination reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 44% and the risk of distance metastasis or death by 65% when compared with Keytruda alone.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation

 to the combination for the post-surgical treatment of patients with high-risk melanoma earlier this year.

Moderna and Merck have also announced the phase 3 INTerpath-001 (V940-001) clinical trial to evaluate the combination as an adjuvant treatment for patients with resected, high-risk stage 3B to 4 melanoma, which is currently enrolling participants, as well as a phase 3 trial for the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with the combination regimen.

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved treatment for some patients with neuroblastoma, kidney cancer and bladder cancer. Elsewhere, a cancer vaccine made headlines for the treatment of patients with melanoma.

FDA Approves 3 Treatments, Cancer Vaccine Shows Promise

After being diagnosed with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease, a rare tumor disorder, Sean Korbitz spent most of his 20s and 30s hoping to make it to his 60. However, after starting a new medication, he is feeling more optimistic about having a “normal life span.”

For six months in 2007, Korbitz threw up every morning and his doctors had no idea why. Suspecting a pinched nerve in his neck, Korbitz’s doctors ordered the Colorado native MRIs for his head and neck.

Within a couple of hours, he was undergoing emergency surgery. The MRI revealed that Korbitz had a brain tumor that had been growing for six months.

In today’s episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Korbitz explains what it was like to receive a diagnosis of a rare genetic disease     

as a young adult, how his life has changed since going on Welireg, his work with the VHL Alliance, his advice for patients with VHL disease and more.

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to

VHL Alliance

When Sean Korbitz was a 20-year-old college student, his life trajectory changed with a rare cancer diagnosis, resulting in the removal of 40 tumors; fifteen years later, a new drug made him feel like a “medical miracle.”  

Welireg Made a von Hippel-Lindau Survivor Feel Like a 'Medical Miracle'

After being diagnosed with kidney cancer — which was a possible result of 

 in New York City – Steven Edwards realized that he had to be his own advocate. Pivotal to his advocacy was asking questions and getting as many professional opinions as possible.

“I probably would consider whether it was the right doctor for me in the first place if a doctor was upset about getting a second opinion, because it’s all about gathering education and becoming educated yourself,” Edwards said in an interview with CURE®.

Edwards went through multiple different treatments, including the participation on a clinical trial, and continues to push for better outcomes for himself and other survivors through being an advocate for the Kidney Cancer Association and KidneyCAN.

Through cancer setbacks like a diagnosis of metastatic disease in 2017, classifying Edwards’ disease as stage 4, he continues to seek information in this rapidly changing field. After all, “There’s only way to go, and that’s forward,” Edwards said.

If an oncologist was apprehensive about Steven Edwards getting a second opinion, that might not be the right doctor for him, the kidney cancer survivor said. 

On Kidney Cancer Advocacy: ‘There’s Only One Way to Go, and That’s Forward’

After a routine physical led to his kidney cancer diagnosis, one patient advocate and survivor has cherished every day he’s had with his family and uses this as motivation to help raise awareness during 

“Renal cell carcinoma is like a phantom in your body,” said Ed, who was treated as part of a clinical trial at Fox Chase Cancer Center after he had exhausted all other surgical options.

Now in remission, Ed has one piece of advice for others facing this diagnosis: Keep on keeping on.

In this week’s episode, we spoke with a patient advocate and survivor of renal cell carcinoma to help raise awareness during Kidney Cancer Awareness month.

How One Survivor 'Keeps On Keeping On'

One expert explained why ‘it’s very important to know what’s going on’ with regard to new renal cell carcinoma treatments.

What Patients With Kidney Cancer Need to Know About Welireg

Afinitor did not improve relapse-free survival in patients with non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma — a kidney cancer subtype linked to poor prognosis. 

Afinitor May Not Boost Outcomes in Non-Clear Cell Kidney Cancer 

Understanding how I fit in matters to me but figuring out my identity in the cancer space is not always easy.

Feeling Imposter Syndrome in the Cancer Community

Considering nutrition and frailty earlier on may help patients achieve better health-related quality of life during kidney cancer and bladder cancer.

Navigating Nutrition, Frailty During Kidney or Bladder Cancer Is Key

Relapse outcomes were similar in patients with high-risk renal cell carcinoma treated with Opdivo and with observation before and after surgery. 

Pre- and Postsurgical Opdivo Does Not Boost Relapse-Free Survival in Kidney Cancer 

Walking up and down the street a few times a day can help prevent patients with kidney or bladder cancers from becoming deconditioned.

Being Active Can Help Frailty After Cancer Treatment

When considering health-related quality of life, it’s important to think about the “small changes” patients with kidney or bladder cancers can make at home, an expert told CURE®.

Health-related quality of life refers to the “ability to live a fulfilling life” based on the impacts of a person’s health, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. This also plays a role in functioning, whether it’s physical, psychological or social.

health-related quality of life factors, such as frailty

, patients should remain active because they can become “deconditioned very quickly,” Dr. Eric A. Singer, a urologic oncologist and chief, Division of Urologic Oncology at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, said during an interview with CURE®.

“We can make some changes,” he said. “Even small changes add up over time.”

Singer sat down with CURE® to discuss the steps patients with kidney or bladder cancers can take to help manage their health-related quality of life.

[Be] attentive to their comorbidities. Cancer is a scary, scary thing, but we can't just focus on that and ignore diabetes or hypertension (high blood pressure), or other things that are going on. Being active — so getting up and moving, even if it's not much, just to begin that process. People can become deconditioned very quickly, even [after] a couple days of resting on the couch or the recliner. You can begin to see a decline in what they're able to do, so really thinking about it, so we can get an assessment [and] we can see how people are doing. Then we can make some changes, and even small changes add up over time.

Even just walking, starting small, [by] walking up and down your street doesn't require any weights, doesn't require any special equipment, just to be doing that. Of course, if somebody has issues with [their] knees, or hips or arthritis or other things, there are other things we can get them doing to be active. But again, just trying to avoid being sedentary, and sitting in the same place or sitting for most of the day. Then again, not easy, even if we're just doing a few walks a day that builds up over time, and you're gonna see that stamina improve. And that can be a real benefit.

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