Dr. Fallah discusses recent research on cytoreductive nephrectomy

In this video, Jaleh Fallah, MD, discusses the Journal of the National Cancer Institute paper, “Cytoreductive nephrectomy in the era of immune checkpoint inhibitors: a U.S. FDA pooled analysis.” Fallah is a medical oncologist with the FDA.

Transcription:

There have been a number of studies on the topic of cytoreductive nephrectomy; what is new about this one?

Most of the studies, including SURTIME and CARMENA, were conducted prior to the era of immune checkpoint inhibitors when VEGF TKI was the standard of care for frontline treatment of metastatic RCC. Our study looked at data from 5 trials of the combination therapy with an immune checkpoint inhibitor and the VEGF TKI evaluating if there's still any potential role for cytoreductive nephrectomy that is worth being investigated in prospective studies. In addition, from a regulatory perspective, the observed association between cytoreductive nephrectomy and better outcomes indicate that stratification of randomized trials by cytoreductive nephrectomy can potentially provide a better balance of baseline characteristics across study arms, and helps evaluating the treatment effect of investigational intervention more accurately in patients with and without cytoreductive nephrectomy.

This transcription was edited for clarity.