Long-term outcomes with first-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus sunitinib for advanced sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma

Patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma with sarcomatoid features (sRCC) have a poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. First-line nivolumab plus ipilimumab (NIVO+IPI) provided efficacy benefits over sunitinib (SUN) in patients with intermediate/poor (I/P)-risk sRCC at 42 months minimum follow-up in the multinational phase 3 CheckMate 214 trial. Exploratory post-hoc analysis of the study after a minimum follow-up of five years found sustained overall survival and progression-free survival benefits with NIVO+IPI over SUN. The authors conclude that these results support NIVO+IPI as a preferred first-line therapy in this population.