A case of metastatic renal cell carcinoma successfully treated with deferred cytoreductive nephrectomy following lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab combination therapy

Abstract

Introduction: Combination therapy using immuno-oncology drugs with tyrosine kinase inhibitors is increasingly important in the therapeutic strategy for metastatic renal cell carcinomas. Here, we report a case of metastatic renal cell carcinoma that was successfully treated with deferred cytoreductive nephrectomy following lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab combination therapy. Case presentation: A 49-year-old man was referred to our hospital with a diagnosis of advanced right kidney cancer with multiple lung metastases (cT3aN0M1). The size of the primary tumor was so huge that it exceeded 20 cm in diameter, pushing the liver and intestines to the left. After administration of lenvatinib and pembrolizumab combination as first-line treatment, all the metastatic lung lesions disappeared, and the primary lesion shrank significantly. Robot-assisted radical nephrectomy was successfully performed, resulting in complete surgical remission. Conclusion: Deferred cytoreductive nephrectomy following a lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab combination is a useful therapeutic strategy for achieving complete remission of metastatic renal cell carcinomas.