Details released for CLEAR study on advanced renal cell carcinoma

Reuters Health - 13/02/2021 - The combination of lenvatinib (Eisai's Lenvima) and pembrolizumab (Merck's Keytruda) showed significantly greater effectiveness against advanced renal cell carcinoma than sunitinib (Pfizer's Sutent), according to data from the CLEAR study released Saturday.

Merck and Eisai, which paid for the study of 1,069 volunteers, announced November 10 that the combination had shown better progression-free survival, overall survival and a better objective response rate, but had failed to disclose any numbers, declining to even declare the actual number of enrollees.

Median progression-free survival was 23.9 months with the combination versus 9.2 months with sunitinib, a 61% reduction in disease progression or death (P<0.001). The combination also improved the odds of overall survival by 34% (P=0.005).

The phase 3 trial also compared the combination of lenvatinib and everolimus against sunitinib. In that arm, progression-free survival was 35% longer (P<0.001) but overall survival was actually shorter, although not significantly so (P=0.30).

The results were reported virtually at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Genitourinary Cancers Symposium and online by the New England Journal of Medicine.

SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2Z3BxyC The New England Journal of Medicine, online February 13, 2021.

By Reuters Staff



Posted on 13 February 202123 February 2021