Abstract
Background and Objective: Adding belzutifan to adjuvant pembrolizumab improved disease-free survival (DFS) in LITESPARK-022, but its durability beyond the 1-year treatment is unknown.
Methods: Following a registered plan, we reconstructed individual patient data from published Kaplan-Meier curves of ten phase 3 adjuvant renal cell carcinoma trials. Within each trial, we estimated restricted mean survival time differences (ΔRMST), hazard ratios (HRs) before and after planned treatment ended, and DFS differences.
Key Findings and Limitations: In LITESPARK-022 (central review), the 24-month ΔRMST was 1.34 months (95% confidence interval 0.73–1.95), and the belzutifan arm remained ahead after month 12 (ΔRMST increment 0.74 months/yr, 0.32–1.19). The HR was 0.55 (0.43–0.71) before month 12 and 1.16 (0.87–1.54) afterwards (post/pre ratio 2.10); investigator assessment showed similar attenuation. Similar ratios occurred in KEYNOTE-564 at its first interim analysis (2.02), whose benefit persisted, and in SORCE and PROTECT (2.09, 2.59), whose benefit faded. From months 12 to 30 (post hoc), the DFS difference changed by −3.7 percentage points (−8.1 to 0.8) with central review and 0.6 (−4.0 to 5.0) with investigator assessment. Data were reconstructed, and follow-up was short.
Conclusions and Clinical Implications: Relative hazard reductions with belzutifan were greater before month 12; durability of the absolute DFS advantage is uncertain and assessment-dependent, so single-HR projections should be avoided.