Clinical Efficacy of PD-1 Inhibitors Plus Split-Course Radiotherapy in the First-Line Treatment of Advanced Kidney Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical efficacy of programmed death 1 (PD-1) inhibitors plus split-course radiotherapy in the first-line treatment of advanced kidney cancer. METHODS: In this prospective, randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial, 44 patients with advanced kidney cancer initially treated in our hospital from January 2017 to December 2018 were recruited. They were concurrently and randomly assigned at a ratio of 1 : 1 to the control group and the study group, with 22 cases in each group. The control group received PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab combined with ipilimumab, and the study group received split-course radiotherapy plus. The primary endpoint is clinical efficacy, and the secondary endpoints are progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and adverse events (AEs). RESULTS: Nivolumab plus split-course radiotherapy was associated with an objective remission rate (ORR) of 59.09% versus nivolumab alone with an ORR of 27.27%. The median PFS was 21.5 months (95% CI: 14.1—NA) after single nivolumab therapy and 28.1 months (95% CI: 24.5—NA) after nivolumab plus split-course radiotherapy, with an HR of 1.875 (95% CI: 0.877–4.011). The median OS was 27.1 months (95% CI: 20.7—NA) after single nivolumab therapy and not reached after nivolumab plus split-course radiotherapy and an HR of 2.56 (95% CI: 1.081–6.06). Nivolumab was associated with significantly better OS plus split-course radiotherapy versus nivolumab alone. CONCLUSION: Nivolumab plus split-course radiotherapy in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma significantly improves ORR and prolongs overall survival with a good safety profile.