Bone Metastases in Renal Cell Carcinoma: Impact of Immunotherapy on Survival

Cancer Diagn Progn. 2023 Sep 3;3(5):538-542. doi: 10.21873/cdp.10252. eCollection 2023 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Background/aim: We performed a multicenter retrospective observational study to investigate the impact of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) on the survival of patients with bone metastases (BMs) from renal cell cancer (RCC).

Patients and methods: A total of 98 patients with metastatic RCC (mRCC) treated with ICIs were retrospectively enrolled. All patients received standard treatments with nivolumab alone or in combination with ipilimumab from December 2015 to March 2022. The primary endpoint was median overall survival (OS).

Results: Forty-three patients (44%) had radiological evidence of BMs. No statistically significant difference in OS was reported between the BM population and the entire population (p=0.254).

Conclusion: Our study suggests some degree of ICI activity to treat patients with BMs from RCC, historically associated with a poorer prognosis.

Keywords: Immunotherapy; bone metastases; overall survival; renal cell cancer.