Dr Toni Choueiri (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, USA), Prof Viktor Grünwald (University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany), Dr Stephanie Berg (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, USA), Dr Cristina Suárez (Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), Barcelona, Spain) and Dr Guillermo de Velasco (University Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, Spain) discuss the most impactful data in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) presented at the ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium 2026.

The panel reviews key updates in the treatment of advanced RCC, including emerging evidence for immunotherapy-based strategies and combination regimens. They discuss clinical data for combinations such as lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab (len/pem), cabozantinib plus nivolumab (cab/niv), and triplet approaches including cabozantinib, nivolumab, and ipilimumab (cab/niv/ipi).

They highlight important results from several studies presented at the meeting, including the phase III LITESPARK-011 trial evaluating belzutifan plus lenvatinib versus cabozantinib after prior anti–PD-(L)1 therapy, and the adjuvant phase III LITESPARK-022 study in clear cell RCC.

Additional discussion covers early findings from the PELET trial, outcomes of nephrectomy following pathologic complete response to immune checkpoint inhibitors, and dose-escalation data from the phase 1/2 LITESPARK-024 study.

The panel concludes by exploring how these developments may influence treatment sequencing and where emerging therapies may fit within the evolving mRCC treatment landscape.