Abstract
BACKGROUND: This analysis compared quality-adjusted time without symptoms of disease progression or toxicity (Q-TWiST) between nivolumab and everolimus among previously treated patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma enrolled in the phase III CheckMate 025 trial (NCT01668784). MATERIALS AND METHODS: At 45-month follow-up, overall survival (OS) was partitioned into 3 health states: TWiST, time with grade ≥ 3 toxicity (TOX), and time after progression (REL). Mean Q-TWiST was determined by multiplying each state's duration with its utility (TWiST, 1.0; TOX, 0.5; REL, 0.5). Relative Q-TWiST gains (calculated as Q-TWiST difference divided by everolimus OS) of ≥ 10% were predefined as clinically important. Immuno-oncology-specific sensitivity analyses considered 4 alternative progression definitions: Tumor size increase ≥ 25% from nadir; treatment discontinuation; ≥ 2-point reduction from baseline in Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Kidney Symptom Index Disease-Related Symptoms scores; and a composite definition. A scenario incorporating grade ≥ 2 toxicities was tested. RESULTS: Compared with everolimus, nivolumab was associated with a significant Q-TWiST improvement of 3.3 months (P < .001). In all sensitivity analyses, nivolumab was associated with Q-TWiST gains (relative gain %) ranging from 3.3 months (14.4%) to 4.8 months (20.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Nivolumab is associated with a statistically significant and clinically meaningful gain in quality-adjusted OS versus everolimus among previously treated patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.