A combination of two immunotherapy drugs, already used to treat melanoma, has shown remarkable results in shrinking kidney tumours, according to research presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology 2017. The drugs, ipilimumab and nivolumab, achieved significant tumour shrinkage in 42% of the 425 patients in the trial and reduced the risk of death within two years by 37%.
In almost half of kidney cancer patients, the disease has already spread by the time of diagnosis, reducing life expectancy from five years to two. Standard treatments, such as the drug sunitinib, only pause tumour growth for four or five months. The new combination, however, made tumours vanish completely in 10% of patients.
The immunotherapy drugs work by enhancing the immune system's ability to attack cancer cells. 'Rather than just putting the cancer into remission for a period, they appear to carry on working even after treatment has stopped,' said Dr Paul Nathan, consultant oncologist at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Middlesex and a lead researcher on the trial.
During the trial, 840 kidney cancer patients were given either sunitinib or the combination immunotherapy. Those on the combination had four infusions at three-weekly intervals. One-fifth experienced severe side effects, such as bowel or liver inflammation, and had to stop early. Despite this, the median overall survival for the combination arm had not been reached after 36 months, compared to 26 months for sunitinib.
One patient, Gary Norman, 62, from Luton, saw his tumour disappear after just three infusions, despite severe side effects including vomiting, diarrhoea, fatigue and diabetes. 'I was told I had just over a year to live. I never expected to receive a wonder drug,' he said. The therapy was approved for NHS melanoma patients in 2016 at a discounted price of less than £30,000 per patient per year.
