Efficacy and Safety of Axitinib Therapy After Nivolumab for Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer

BACKGROUND/AIM: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) and immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are treatment options for metastatic renal cell cancer (mRCC). However, the treatment options after nivolumab are unclear. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The medical records of 57 consecutive Japanese mRCC patients who underwent treatment with axitinib were reviewed. Among those, 17 patients received axitinib treatment after nivolumab and 40 patients received axitinib treatment after other chemotherapy regimens except nivolumab. RESULTS: Of the 57 patients with mRCC, only 17 underwent axitinib therapy after nivolumab. Among these 17 patients, the objective response rate (ORR) and median tumor shrinkage rate were 56.3% and -30%, respectively. They were significantly better in patients who underwent axitinib therapy after nivolumab than after other therapies (p=0.026 and p=0.012, respectively). However, all 17 patients experienced some adverse events and nine patients (52.9%) required a dose reduction or axitinib treatment interruption. CONCLUSION: Axitinib therapy after the immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab showed good efficacy with a moderate risk of adverse events. Careful management by skilled professionals may be required.