Commenting on the renal cell carcinoma study presented in abstract 4505 at the 2011 ASCO Annual Meeting, Walter M. Stadler, MD, of The University of Chicago, said, “The EORTC and investigators should be congratulated for conducting and completing this extremely difficult trial.” Unfortunately, he noted, no long-term benefit was observed, which parallels the observations of a Medical Research Council (MRC) trial in the metastatic renal cell carcinoma setting of interferon vs the same combination.1 Thus, the current standard of care for locally advanced, high-risk but completely resected renal cancer remains observation. ■
Disclosure: Dr. Stadler has served as a consultant for Genentech and has received research funding from Genentech and Eli Lilly.
Reference
1. Gore ME, Griffin CL, Hancock B, et al: Interferon alfa-2a versus combination therapy with interferon alfa-2a, interleukin-2, and fluorouracil in patients with untreated metastatic renal cell carcinoma (MRC RE04/EORTC GU 30012): An open-label randomised trial. Lancet 375:641-648, 2010.
