Exelixis Inc.'s kidney cancer treatment Cabometyx, in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s Opdivo, either alone or with Yervoy, reduced the tumor size of patients with certain tumors that are resistant to treatment.
In a phase 1 trial conducted among 78 patients with refractory genitourinary tumors, 36% of the 64 evaluable patients saw a reduction in their tumor size. The median time for the tumor to return or start growing again was 24 months.
Genitourinary cancers are those that affect parts of the body involved in reproduction and excretion and include kidney cancer and cancer of the urinary system.
Under the study, 19 patients had previously treated cancer of the urinary system that had spread to other parts of the body, while 13 patients had previously treated kidney cancer that had spread.
In the group with cancer of the urinary system, 42% of the patients saw a decrease in their tumor size. The patients in the group lived for a median of 12.8 months without the disease worsening. The percentage of people who were still alive at 12 months into the study was 77%.
For the kidney cancer group, 54% of the patients saw a decrease in their tumor size.
The trial is sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, or NCI, through cooperative research and development agreements between the NCI's Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, and both Bristol-Myers Squibb and Exelixis.
