Progress and Comment on Immunotherapy of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma

Immunotherapy has made great progress in the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), since nivolumab was approved for the second-line therapy of advanced RCC. The efficacy of antiPD1 monotherapy was limited in the first-line setting, therefore the combination of immunotherapy and anti-angiogenesis targeted therapy is becoming the trend. As the release of several randomized phase Ⅲ clinical trials results, ipilimumab in combination with nivolumab is recommended for intermediate-/highrisk advanced RCC. Pembrolizumab plus axitinib or avelumab plus axitinib are proved to be more efficacious than traditional targeted therapy. How to select the appropriate population for immunotherapy depends on individual characteristics, disease risk, social economics and appropriate prognostic biomarkers.