Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the 7th most diagnosed cancer in Australia and the 14th most common cancer in Western populations. Approximately 90% of kidney cancers are renal cell carcinomas (RCC). At the moment the five-year survival rate for Australians diagnosed with kidney cancer is 78.5%, although most people with kidney cancer localised only to the kidney can be cured. Immune therapies have been shown to be effective in about a quarter of patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma after the standard treatment (sunitinib or pazopanib) has failed.

This study will test if denosumab, a drug frequently used to treat osteoporosis, (thinning of the bones), can team up with immune therapy to improve survival and increase the chance of the cancer shrinking for people with clear cell kidney cancer. In the trial, people with advanced clear cell kidney cancer were offered treatment with two antibodies (a type of protein). This trial will investigate if these drugs taken together can increase the ability of the body’s immune system to attack kidney cancer cells. It is hoped that by combining pembrolizumab with denosumab, it will stimulate the immune system, so that the immune therapy will work better in the tumours.

ANZUP collaborated with the University of Sydney through the NHMRC CTC to conduct the KEYPAD Trial.