Real‐world outcomes of avelumab plus axitinib as first‐line therapy in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma in Japan: A multicenter, retrospective, observational study (J‐DART)

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: In the phase 3 JAVELIN Renal 101 trial in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC), objective response rate (ORR) and progression-free survival (PFS) were significantly improved in patients treated with first-line avelumab plus axitinib vs sunitinib. Here we evaluate real-world outcomes with first-line avelumab plus axitinib in Japanese patients with aRCC. METHODS: In this multicenter, noninterventional, retrospective study, clinical data from patients with aRCC treated with first-line avelumab plus axitinib between December 2019 and December 2020 in Japan were reviewed. Endpoints included ORR and PFS per investigator assessment, and time to treatment discontinuation (TTD). RESULTS: Data from 48 patients (median age, 69 years) from 12 sites were analyzed. Median follow-up was 10.4 months (range, 2.6-16.5), and median duration of treatment was 7.4 months (range, 0.5-16.5). International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium risk category was favorable, intermediate, or poor in 16.7%, 54.2%, and 29.2% of patients, respectively. The ORR was 48.8% (95% CI, 33.3%-64.5%), including complete response in 3/43 patients (7.0%). Thirteen patients (27.1%) had disease progression or died, and median PFS was 15.3 months (95% CI, 9.7 months - not estimable). At data cutoff, 24 patients (50.0%) were still receiving avelumab plus axitinib, and median TTD was 15.2 months (95% CI, 7.4 months - not estimable). Three patients (6.3%) received high-dose corticosteroid treatment for immune-related adverse events, and 8 (16.7%) received treatment for infusion-related reactions. CONCLUSIONS: We report the first real-world evidence of the effectiveness and tolerability of first-line avelumab plus axitinib in Japanese patients with aRCC. Results were comparable with the JAVELIN Renal 101 trial.