Tivozanib

Checkpoint inhibitor therapy represents a significant advance in cancer care. The interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1 induces immune tolerance, and the inhibition of this interaction is an effective treatment strategy for numerous malignancies. Despite its demonstrated potential, immunotherapy is not currently thought to be an effective intervention in the treatment of several immunologically "cold" tumors such as prostate cancer, biliary tract cancers, soft tissue sarcomas, well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors, microsatellite stable colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and non-triple negative breast cancer. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is thought to play a key role in modulating the anti-tumor immune response. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is secreted by tumors and leads to endothelial cell proliferation, vascular permeability, and vasodilation. This in turn leads to the development of an abnormal vasculature with excessive permeability and poor blood flow, limiting immune surveillance. In addition, VEGF inhibits dendritic cell differentiation, limiting the presentation of tumor antigens to CD4 and CD8 T cells. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGF tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) VEGF-TKIs are currently utilized in the treatment of a variety of malignancies and are widely utilized in combination with checkpoint blockade in the treatment of clear cell kidney cancer. Through the inhibition of VEGF, it may be possible to potentiate the effect of immune checkpoint blockade even in tumors which have traditionally been thought to be unresponsive to immunotherapy. This study aims to evaluate the combination of the immune checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab and the VEGF-TKI tivozanib in a variety of tumors which have a low response rate to checkpoint inhibitor therapy alone.

This phase III trial compares the effect of adding tivozanib to standard therapy pembrolizumab versus pembrolizumab alone for the treatment of patients with high-risk renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Immunotherapy with monoclonal antibodies, such as pembrolizumab, may help the body's immune system attack the cancer, and may interfere with the ability of tumor cells to grow and spread. Tivozanib is in a class of medications called kinase inhibitors. It works by blocking the action of the abnormal protein that signals tumor cells to multiply. This helps stop the spread of tumor cells. Giving pembrolizumab and tivozanib together may work better than pembrolizumab alone in treating patients with RCC.