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Marked response to nivolumab combined with external radiation therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma: report of two cases

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Abstract

Although nivolumab has been regarded as a standard agent for patients with previously treated advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a significant proportion of these patients fail to achieve a response to nivolumab. In recent years, several studies have reported the favorable therapeutic impact of combined therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors and radiotherapy on a wide variety of advanced malignant tumors, such as melanoma and lung cancer; however, the significance of this combined treatment for advanced RCC patients has not been well characterized. Here, we report two patients with metastatic RCC showing a marked response to nivolumab and external radiation therapy, including one with an abscopal response, after progression on prior treatment with multiple targeted agents. Based on the clinical courses of these two patients suggesting additive or synergistic efficacies on combining radiation with nivolumab, it might be worthwhile to consider the addition of radiotherapy for metastatic RCC patients treated with nivolumab.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan

    Yuto Matsushita & Hideaki Miyake

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan

    Katsumasa Nakamura

  3. Department of Urology, Chutoen General Medical Center, Kakegawa, Japan

    Hiroshi Furuse

  4. Department of Radiation Oncology, Chutoen General Medical Center, Kakegawa, Japan

    Kenji Ichinohe

Authors
  1. Yuto Matsushita
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  2. Katsumasa Nakamura
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  3. Hiroshi Furuse
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  4. Kenji Ichinohe
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  5. Hideaki Miyake
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hideaki Miyake.

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Conflict of interest

Y. Matsushita, K. Nakamura, H. Furuse, K. Ichinohe and H. Miyake have declared no conflict of interest.

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Matsushita, Y., Nakamura, K., Furuse, H. et al. Marked response to nivolumab combined with external radiation therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma: report of two cases. Int Canc Conf J 8, 29–32 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13691-018-0349-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13691-018-0349-7

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