Now speaking at Global Voices in Renal Oncology (VIRO) 2025 organized by OncoDaily: Dr. Ilya Tsimafeyeu, Director at the Bureau for Cancer Research, on the topic “Real-World Evaluation of Treatment Approaches and Immunotherapy Outcomes in Russia”.
He emphasized that kidney cancer incidence in Russia has risen significantly, with a 33% increase in cases over the past 15 years, and forecasts predict an additional 1,500 new diagnoses annually by 2039. Genitourinary cancers are projected to rank among the top five cancers in men, with kidney cancer taking fourth place. Despite these troubling trends, he noted that mortality is expected to decline by about 2,000 deaths annually by 2039 if access to modern therapies is sustained.
He highlighted findings from a multicenter retrospective analysis showing that non–clear-cell RCC accounts for nearly 19% of cases, with papillary and chromophobe being the most common subtypes. He also stressed that 60% of Russian patients present with or progress to advanced disease, underscoring the urgent need for effective systemic therapies.
Regarding treatment, he pointed out that immunotherapy combinations are approved and recommended in national guidelines, though access remains uneven. Belzutifan and tivozanib are not yet approved in Russia, and about one-third of patients are still treated with TKI monotherapy in the first-line setting. Importantly, a recent big data analysis showed that 64% of patients now receive IO-based combinations, most commonly pembrolizumab-containing regimens, while avelumab plus axitinib remains widely used in Russia.
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