In silico modeling of combination systemic therapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma Journal Article


Authors: Kotecha, R. R.; Hsu, D. J.; Lee, C. H.; Patil, S.; Voss, M. H.
Article Title: In silico modeling of combination systemic therapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma
Abstract: Therapeutic combinations of VEGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor plus immune checkpoint blockade now represent a standard in the first-line management of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. Tumor molecular profiling has shown notable heterogeneity when it comes to activation states of relevant pathways, and it is not clear that concurrent pursuit of two mechanisms of action is needed in all patients. Here, we applied an in silico drug model to simulate combination therapy by integrating previously reported findings from individual monotherapy studies. Clinical data was collected from prospective clinical trials of axitinib, cabozantinib, pembrolizumab and nivolumab. Efficacy of two-drug combination regimens (cabozantinib plus nivolumab, and axitinib plus pembrolizumab) was then modeled assuming independent effects of each partner. Reduction in target lesions, objective response rates (ORR), and progression-free survival (PFS) were projected based on previously reported activity of each agent, randomly pairing efficacy data from two source trials for individual patients and including only the superior effect of each pair in the model. In silico results were then contextualized to register phase III studies of these combinations with similar ORR, PFS, and best tumor response. As increasingly complex therapeutic strategies emerge, computational tools like this could help define benchmarks for trial designs and precision medicine efforts. Summary statement: In silico drug modeling provides meaningful insights into the effects of combination immunotherapy for patients with advanced kidney cancer. © 2021 BMJ Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
Keywords: advanced cancer; monotherapy; systemic therapy; prospective study; progression free survival; tumor volume; renal cell carcinoma; kidney neoplasms; protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor; immunotherapy; axitinib; drug therapy; computer model; combination; overall response rate; cabozantinib; combination drug therapy; nivolumab; human; article; pembrolizumab
Journal Title: Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer
Volume: 9
Issue: 12
ISSN: 2051-1426
Publisher: Biomed Central Ltd  
Date Published: 2021-12-01
Start Page: e004059
Language: English
DOI: 10.1136/jitc-2021-004059
PUBMED: 34952852
PROVIDER: scopus
PMCID: PMC8710908
DOI/URL:
Notes: Article -- Export Date: 1 February 2022 -- Source: Scopus
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MSK Authors
  1. Sujata Patil
    511 Patil
  2. Martin Henner Voss
    288 Voss
  3. Chung-Han   Lee
    157 Lee
  4. Ritesh Rajesh Kotecha
    91 Kotecha
  5. Dennis Ji-Huan Hsu
    2 Hsu