First-line treatment combining the immune checkpoint blocker avelumab (Bavencio, EMD Serono/Pfizer) with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) axitinib (Inlyta, Pfizer) significantly improved progression-free survival in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), compared with treatment with sunitinib.
The benefit was seen regardless of programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) tumor status, according to results from the phase 3, randomized JAVELIN Renal 101 study presented at the ESMO 2018