For the first time in 50 years, there’s big news in the fight against kidney cancer.
A recent study has shown that a treatment called pembrolizumab can actually help patients live longer. This is a major step forward, as it’s the first time since 1973 that a treatment after kidney cancer surgery has shown such a benefit.
Pembrolizumab is a type of immunotherapy drug. It works by boosting the body’s immune system to fight cancer. In the KEYNOTE-564 study, it was tested on patients who had a specific kind of kidney cancer called clear-cell renal-cell carcinoma (ccRCC).
These patients were at high risk of their cancer coming back after surgery. The results were promising: pembrolizumab reduced the risk of death by 38% compared to a placebo (a treatment with no active drug).
Dr. Toni Choueiri, the lead investigator of the study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, shared these exciting findings.
He highlighted how pembrolizumab not only delays the return of cancer but also helps patients live longer. This is a big deal because, until now, there wasn’t a clear option for helping these patients after surgery.
The KEYNOTE-564 trial was a large international study. It involved 994 patients who were given either pembrolizumab or a placebo. This was done after they had a nephrectomy, which is surgery to remove the cancerous kidney.
Pembrolizumab works by targeting a specific pathway that cancer cells use to hide from the immune system. By blocking this pathway, the drug makes it easier for the body’s T cells (a type of immune cell) to attack the tumors.
Patients in the trial had a type of tumor that included clear-cell components and were considered at medium to high risk of their cancer returning. Some of the patients had even had metastases (spread of cancer) removed during their surgery.
It’s important to note that surgery is supposed to cure this type of cancer, but in 30-50% of cases, the cancer comes back. When it does, it often spreads and becomes much harder to treat.
The journey to find an effective treatment after surgery has been long. Since the first study of its kind in 1973, over 12,000 patients have been part of trials testing different treatments, but none showed a clear benefit in extending life—until now.
The KEYNOTE-564 study changes that. It’s not just about delaying the cancer’s return; it’s about giving patients more time.
Based on the results from this study, pembrolizumab was approved in 2021 as a treatment to be given after surgery for kidney cancer. This approval was initially based on the drug’s ability to improve disease-free survival (the time a patient stays free from cancer).
Now, with the added benefit of extending overall survival, pembrolizumab represents a significant advancement in kidney cancer treatment.
If you care about kidney health, please read studies about how to protect your kidneys from diabetes, and drinking coffee could help reduce risk of kidney injury.
For more information about kidney health, please see recent studies about foods that may prevent recurrence of kidney stones, and eating nuts linked to lower risk of chronic kidney disease and death.
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