Avelumab in combination with axitinib for advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma – first line

Nivolumab is a type of immunotherapy that is currently licensed in the UK for the treatment of several types of advanced cancers such as melanoma, non‐small cell lung cancer, and kidney cancer. It blocks a protein called programmed death-1 (PD-1), which is found on the surface of a type of immune cells called T-cells. Blocking PD-1 stimulates the T-cells to kill the cancer cells. Temozolomide in combination with radiotherapy is currently licensed in the UK for newly diagnosed glioblastoma in adults. The addition of nivolumab to temozolomide and radiotherapy will potentially offer an additional first line treatment option for adult patients who are newly diagnosed MGMT-methylated glioblastoma.

Encorafenib in combination with binimetinib and cetuximab is one of the first regimens to target the BRAF V600E-mutation in colorectal cancer. When this mutation is present, it switches on another protein called MEK, which stimulates cell division and leads to uncontrolled cell growth. Encorafenib and binimetinib target different parts of an important signalling pathway in tumour cells with the mutation, and slows down their growth and communication. It is also one of the first combinations to simultaneously target the BRAF and MEK pathways, and encorafenib and binimetinib have the advantage of oral administration.