Publications

Choueiri Lab Publications

Selected Clinical Trials

  1. Choueiri TK et al. Adjuvant pembrolizumab plus belzutifan versus pembrolizumab for clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC): The randomized phase 3 LITESPARK-022 study. J Clin Oncol. 2026;44(7_suppl):LBA418. doi:10.1200/JCO.2026.44.7_suppl.LBA418 
    View in ASCO/JCO
  2. Choueiri TK et al. Belzutifan plus cabozantinib as first-line treatment for patients with advanced clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (LITESPARK-003): an open-label, single-arm, phase 2 study. Lancet Oncol. 2025;26(1):64-73. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(24)00649-1
    View in PubMed
  3. Choueiri TK et al. Nivolumab plus relatlimab and nivolumab plus ipilimumab for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma: results from the open-label, randomised, phase II FRACTION-RCC trial. ESMO Open. 2024;9(12):104073. doi:10.1016/j.esmoop.2024.104073
    View in PubMed
  4. Choueiri TK et al. Tivozanib plus nivolumab versus tivozanib monotherapy in patients with renal cell carcinoma following an immune checkpoint inhibitor: results of the phase 3 TiNivo-2 Study. Lancet. 2024;404(10460):1309-1320. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01758-6
    View in PubMed
  5. Choueiri TK et al...LITESPARK-005 Investigators. Belzutifan versus Everolimus for Advanced Renal-Cell Carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2024;391(8):710-721. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2313906
    ​View in PubMed
  6. Choueiri TK et al...KEYNOTE-564 Investigators. Overall Survival with Adjuvant Pembrolizumab in Renal-Cell Carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2024;390(15):1359-1371. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2312695
    ​View in PubMed
  7. Choueiri TK et al...COSMIC-313 Investigators. Cabozantinib plus Nivolumab and Ipilimumab in Renal-Cell Carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2023;388(19):1767-1778. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2212851
    View in PubMed
  8. Pal SK et al...Choueiri TK. Atezolizumab plus cabozantinib versus cabozantinib monotherapy for patients with renal cell carcinoma after progression with previous immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment (CONTACT-03): a multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial. Lancet. 2023;402(10397):185-195. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00922-4
    View in PubMed
  9. Choueiri TK et al...CheckMate 9ER Investigators. Nivolumab plus Cabozantinib versus Sunitinib for Advanced Renal-Cell Carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2021;384(9):829-841. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2026982
    View in PubMed
  10. Motzer R et al...Choueiri TK. CLEAR Trial Investigators. Lenvatinib plus Pembrolizumab or Everolimus for Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2021;384(14):1289-1300. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2035716
    View in PubMed
  11. Motzer RJ et al...Choueiri TK. Avelumab plus Axitinib versus Sunitinib for Advanced Renal-Cell Carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2019;380(12):1103-1115. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1816047
    View in PubMed
  12. Choueiri TK et al. Biomarker-Based Phase II Trial of Savolitinib in Patients With Advanced Papillary Renal Cell Cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2017;35(26):2993-3001. doi:10.1200/JCO.2017.72.2967
    View in PubMed
  13. Choueiri TK et al. Cabozantinib Versus Sunitinib As Initial Targeted Therapy for Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma of Poor or Intermediate Risk: The Alliance A031203 CABOSUN Trial. J Clin Oncol. 2017;35(6):591-597. doi:10.1200/JCO.2016.70.7398
    View in PubMed
  14. Choueiri TK et al...METEOR Investigators. Cabozantinib versus Everolimus in Advanced Renal-Cell Carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2015;373(19):1814-1823. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1510016
    View in PubMed
  15. Motzer RJ et al...Choueiri TK. Pazopanib versus sunitinib in metastatic renal-cell carcinoma. N Engl J Med. 2013;369(8):722-731. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1303989
    View in PubMed
The NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL of MEDICINE
Tivozanib plus nivolumab
Belzutifan versus Everolimus

Recent Publications – Clinical and Translational

  1. Abou Alaiwi S, Adib E, Zhang Z, et al. Generation of a comprehensive epigenomic atlas in clear cell renal cell carcinoma informs kidney cancer progression and heritability. Cell Reports. Published online February 12, 2026. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2026.116968 View in PubMed
  2. Garinet S, Semaan K, Li J, et al. Cell-free DNA epigenomic profiling for the noninvasive detection and monitoring of translocation renal cell carcinoma. J Clin Invest. Published online February 2, 2026. doi:10.1172/JCI195725 
    View in PubMed
  3. Takemura K, Graham J, Maj D, et al. Outcomes of Patients with Metastatic Non–clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Receiving Contemporary or Traditional First-line Therapies: Results from the International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium. Eur Urol Oncol. Published online January 19, 2026. doi:10.1016/j.euo.2025.12.018 
    View in PubMed
  4. Alves Costa Silva, C, Machaalani M, Saliby RM, et al. Soluble MAdCAM-1 as a prognostic biomarker in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Nat Med. Published January 7, 2026
    View in PubMed
  5. Abu-Remaileh M, Stransky L, Bhalerao N, et al. Targeting HIF2-driven cachexia in kidney cancer. Nat Med. Published November 2025. doi:10.1038/s41591-025-04054-2 
    View in PubMed
  6. Bi K, Kashima S, Camp SY, et al. Myeloid cells mediate interferon-driven resistance to immunotherapy in advanced renal cell carcinoma. Immunity. Published online October 31, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.immuni.2025.10.013
    View in PubMed
  7. Dang CM, Kemp TJ, Roche N, et al. Humoral immune responses to the second dose of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine in cancer patients undergoing treatment. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2025;21(1):2570963. doi:10.1080/21645515.2025.2570963
    View in PubMed
  8. Sabarwal A, Machaalani M, Rawat L, et al. Targeting AXL can effectively overcome c-Met-induced therapeutic resistance in renal cancer and promote tumor cell death through increased oxidative stress. Cancer Letters. doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2025.217984
    View in PubMed
  9. Semaan K, Nawfal R, Canniff J, et al. Plasma epigenomic profiling reveals treatment-emergent squamous transformation in prostate cancer. NPJ Precision Oncology. 2025;9(1):233. Published 2025 Jul 9. doi:10.1038/s41698-025-01031-3
    View in PubMed
  10. Steiner C, Machaalani M, Bonventre JV, et al. KIM-1 as a Prognostic Marker in Renal Cell Carcinoma. Eur Urol Focus. Published online July 5, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.euf.2025.06.012
    View in PubMed
  11. Braun DA, Moranzoni G, Chea V, et al. A neoantigen vaccine generates antitumour immunity in renal cell carcinoma. Nature. 2025;639(8054):474-482. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-08507-5
    View in PubMed
  12. Xu W, Birch G, Meliki A, et al. Progressive natural killer cell dysfunction in advanced-stage clear-cell renal cell carcinoma and association with clinical outcomes. ESMO Open. doi:10.1016/j.esmoop.2024.104105
    ​View in PubMed
  13. Jammihal T, Saliby RM, Labaki C, et al. Immunogenomic determinants of exceptional response to immune checkpoint inhibition in renal cell carcinoma. Nat Cancer. doi:10.1038/s43018-024-00896-w
    ​View in PubMed
  14. Semaan K, Nawfal R, Nally E, et al. Landscape of subsequent therapies in perioperative immunotherapy trials across multiple cancer types. Lancet Oncol. Published online November 4, 2024. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(24)00513-8
    ​View in PubMed
  15. Machaalani M, Eid M, Semaan K, et al. Liquid biopsy in renal cell carcinoma. Oncologist. 2024;29(10):821-823. doi:10.1093/oncolo/oyae230
    ​View in PubMed
  16. Saliby RM, Labaki C, Jammihal TR, et al. Impact of renal cell carcinoma molecular subtypes on immunotherapy and targeted therapy outcomes. Cancer Cell. 2024;42(5):732-735. doi:10.1016/j.ccell.2024.03.002
    ​View in PubMed
  17. El Zarif T, Semaan K, Xie W, et al. First-line Systemic Therapy Following Adjuvant Immunotherapy in Renal Cell Carcinoma: An International Multicenter Study. Eur Urol. Published online August 14, 2024. doi:10.1016/j.eururo.2024.07.016
    View in PubMed
  18. Saad E, Gebrael G, Semaan K, et al. Impact of smoking status on clinical outcomes in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with first-line immune checkpoint inhibitor-based regimens. Oncologist. 2024;29(8):699-706. doi:10.1093/oncolo/oyae072
    View in PubMed
  19. El Zarif T, Semaan K, Eid M, et al. Epigenomic signatures of sarcomatoid differentiation to guide the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. Cell Rep. 2024;43(6):114350. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114350
    View in PubMed​