Several regimens combining immunotherapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have recently been validated for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). While immunotherapy is typically discontinued after 2 years in patients who neither progress nor experience limiting toxicity, according to the protocols of most recent phase III clinical trials, TKIs are to be continued until disease progression or the emergence of limiting toxicity. However, the prolonged use of TKIs is associated with significant toxicity and financial costs. This has sparked considerable debate about whether TKIs can be safely discontinued, particularly in mRCC patients who have achieved a verified complete response. This concise review examines the available evidence on TKI discontinuation in the context of mRCC management.

Department of Comprehensive Cancer Care and Faculty of Medicine Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute and Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Department of Oncology 2nd Faculty of Medicine Charles University and Motol University Hospital 5 Uvalu 84 150 06 Prague Czech Republic

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Global cancer observatory: cancer today. International Agency for Research on Cancer [cited 2023 May 11]. https://gco.iarc.fr/today

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