New drug cocktail shows promise in shrinking kidney tumors before surgery
NCT ID NCT07571551
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This phase 2 trial is testing whether giving two drugs—toripalimab and lenvatinib—before and after surgery can improve outcomes for people with clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The study enrolls 75 patients with different stages of kidney cancer. Participants receive the drugs for 12 weeks before surgery, then continue treatment afterward based on their surgical results. The main goal is to see how many patients have a major reduction in viable tumor cells after the pre-surgery treatment.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- toripalimab and lenvatinib
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this combination could become a new standard treatment to shrink kidney tumors before surgery and reduce the chance of cancer coming back afterward.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early phase 2 trial with only 75 patients, so results may not apply to everyone. The drugs can cause serious side effects like high blood pressure, fatigue, and immune-related inflammation.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
-
About 75 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
May 2026
- Expected to finish
-
Dec 2032
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 to 80 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients have fully understood and give written informed consent prior to receive neoadjuvant therapy. Patients with history of major psychiatric disease must be judged able to fully understand the trial, and the explicit consent of family members is required; * Patients with the ages range from 18 to 80 years old (at the time of signing informed consent); * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status 0 or 1; * Patients have at least 1 measurable target lesion according to RECIST v1.1. The target lesion can be biopsied as per protocol. * Histologically confirmed clear cell RCC; * Patients will be enrolled into 3 separate cohorts based on their clinical TNM at the time of baseline screening: 1. Cohort 1: localized ccRCC (cT1-2N0M0): the primary tumor in this cohort must meet the subsequent criteria: * The cT1a primary tumor should have ≥10 R.E.N.A.L. score, or locate in renal hilum close to renal artery or its main branch; * Patients with cT1b-2b primary tumors can be directly enrolled; * In case of necessary, patients will undergo dual radiological examinations using contrast-enhanced CT and MRI to rule out potential invasion of the renal pelvis or perirenal fat as per protocol. 2. Cohort 2: locally advanced ccRCC (cT3-4N0M0 or cTanyN1M0); 3. Cohort 3: metastatic ccRCC (cTanyNanyM1): the patients should be evaluated as suitable for cytoreductive nephrectomy. * Patient have no symptomatic metastatic lesions requiring urgent intervention; * The sum of the diameters of the other target lesions (excluding the primary tumor) does not exceed the longest diameter of the primary tumor. * The patients who are treatment-naive, and have not received systemic therapy for any tumor; * Adequate main organ function. The screening laboratory indicators must meet the following criteria: 1. Hemoglobin ≥ 90 g/L (Without blood transfusion); 2. Platelets count ≥ 100 x 109/L; 3. Absolute neutrophil count ≥ 1.5 x 109/L; 4. Serum creatinine ≤ 1.5 x ULN, or eGFR \> 60 mL/min/1.73m2; 5. Total bilirubin ≤ 1.5 mg/dL; 6. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and/or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ≤ 2.5 x ULN for patients without evidence of liver metastases; AST and/or ALT ≤ 5 x ULN for patients with liver metastases; 7. Normal CK; 8. Normal Troponin T; 9. Normal LDH. * Willingness and ability to comply with planned visits, therapeutic laboratory testing, and other procedures. Exclusion Criteria: * Signs of tumor metastasis involving the central nervous system, or radiological evidence of brain metastasis; * History of malignant tumors other than ccRCC within the previous 5 years, with the exception of malignant tumors that can be expected to be cured with treatment (including but not limited to adequately treated thyroid cancer, carcinoma in situ of the cervix, basal or squamous cell skin cancer, or ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast treated with radical surgery); * Prior to participating in the study, patients have received prior immune checkpoint inhibitors, investigational drugs or device therapy; * History of undergoing major surgery (judged by the investigator) within 4 weeks before the first trial dose, are recovering, or are unable to undergo baseline puncture; * History of severe drug allergy, including but not limited to antibody drugs; * Patients with contraindications to immunotherapy restart, including but not limited to: 1. Grade 2-4 immune myocarditis; 2. Severe grade 4 proteinuria; 3. Severe or life-threatening grade 4 immune hepatitis; 4. Severe grade 3-4 immune pneumonitis; 5. Severe inflammatory arthritis that significantly affects daily life or quality of life; 6. Severe neurological toxicity: 7. Myasthenia gravis grade 2-4; 8. Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) or transverse myelitis of any grade; 9. Grade 2-4 encephalitis; 10. Severe or life-threatening grade 3-4 pancreatitis; 11. Severe or life-threatening bullous disease (grade 3-4); 12. Severe grade 3-4 uveitis or episcleritis. * Known history of allogeneic organ transplantation or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or long-term corticosteroid therapy. * Non-resolution of toxicity after previous antineoplastic therapy, i.e., resolution to baseline, CTCAE v5.0 grade 0-1 (excluding alopecia), or inclusion/exclusion criteria. Irreversible toxicities (e.g., hearing loss) that would not reasonably be expected to be exacerbated by the study drug can be included in the study; * Known history of clinically significant liver disease, including active viral hepatitis (hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and/or hepatitis B core antibody (HbcAb) positive, HBV DNA\>10000 copies /mL or \>2000 IU/mL; Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody positive and HCV RNA positive), or other active hepatitis, clinically significant moderate to severe cirrhosis; * Patients with uncontrolled third space effusion requiring repeated drainage, such as pleural effusion, ascites, pericardial effusion, etc. (Patients who do not need drainage of effusion or stop drainage for 3 days without significant increase in effusion can be enrolled); * Receiving a systemic corticosteroid (prednisone \> 10mg/ day or equivalent) or other immunosuppressive medication within 14 days before the first study medication; * Patients with any severe and/or uncontrolled disease, including: 1. Hypertension that is not well controlled by antihypertensive medication; 2. Unstable angina pectoris or myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting or stent implantation within 6 months before study medication; 3. Grade I or above myocardial ischemia or myocardial infarction, arrhythmia (including QTc≥480ms) and ≥ grade 2 congestive heart failure (New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification); Degree II or above heart block; Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) \< 50%; 4. Poorly controlled diabetes (fasting blood glucose \> 10 mmol/L); 5. Patients with urinary protein ≥++ and confirmed 24-hour urinary protein \> 1.0g; 6. Severe active or uncontrolled infection. * Patients with or suspected to have active autoimmune diseases, including but not limited to systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, etc.; * Renal failure requiring hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis; * Patients with a history of immunodeficiency, including HIV positive patients, other acquired immunodeficiency diseases, congenital immunodeficiency diseases, or organ transplantation history; * History of live attenuated vaccine inoculation within 4 weeks before the first study drug or the expected vaccination during the study period; * History of psychiatric drug abuse and can not quit or have a history of mental disorders; * Women who are of childbearing potential. Women of childbearing potential must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test, and must use appropriate methods of contraception. * The presence of any other severe, acute or chronic medical disease or mental illness or laboratory abnormality, as judged by the investigator, that may increase the risk associated with participation in the study or that may interfere with the interpretation of the results of the study.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Clear cell RCC are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Jinling Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University
RECRUITINGNanjing, Jiangsu, 210000, China
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Engineered immune cells target CD70 in kidney cancer
- Can a year of sunitinib delay kidney Cancer's return after lung surgery?
- Can a Patient's own immune cells beat advanced kidney cancer?
- Can a Two-Pronged immune attack shrink kidney tumors before surgery?
- Can a tracer that hunts unstable iron light up hidden tumors?
- Can a pill that starves tumors of oxygen help fight advanced cancer?