Avelumab intravenous infusion in combination with oral axitinib is in clinical development for people with advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma that have not received any prior
treatment. Renal cell carcinoma originates in the tubules of the kidney that filter the blood waste and is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults. Renal cell carcinoma is
advanced when it has spread to regional lymph nodes and is metastatic when the tumour has spread to other parts of the body. Current treatment options are associated with severe
adverse events, and in most patients disease will eventually progress.
Avelumab is a human monoclonal antibody that works by inducing cancer cell death and restoring immune response against cancer cells. Axitinib works by blocking the growth of
blood vessels that supply the cancer cells. Their combined mechanism of actions may result in more effective cancer growth inhibition with manageable toxicity profiles. If licensed,
avelumab in combination with axitinib may offer an additional treatment option for people with advanced renal cell carcinoma that have not been treated previously.
Drugs
February 2020
Atezolizumab is in clinical development, in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy, for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer, who have received no prior systemic therapy (a drug which travels through the bloodstream and affects the whole body). Urothelial cancer, a subset of bladder cancer, occurs on the lining of the bladder, and other parts of the urinary system. In advanced urothelial cancer, the cancer has grown into deeper layers including connective tissue or muscle. Metastatic urothelial cancer occurs when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the liver or bones.