# Combination therapy with toripalimab and lenvatinib in metastatic type 2 papillary renal cell carcinoma: a Case Report

**Authors:** Wende Wang, Minna Chen, Wenwu Xue, De Zeng

PMC · DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1591489 · 2025-11-06

## TL;DR

A 73-year-old man with metastatic type 2 kidney cancer showed improved outcomes with a combination of toripalimab and lenvatinib.

## Contribution

This case report demonstrates the potential efficacy of toripalimab and lenvatinib in treating metastatic type 2 papillary renal cell carcinoma.

## Key findings

- The patient showed a partial response with regression of metastases after 11 months of treatment.
- The combination therapy was well-tolerated with no serious adverse events.
- The case highlights the importance of accurate diagnosis for effective treatment.

## Abstract

Type 2 papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC) is an aggressive subtype of renal cell carcinoma with a poor prognosis. Diagnosis is challenging, particularly when presenting as a metastatic lung mass. This report describes a case of metastatic type 2 PRCC treated with first-line toripalimab (anti-PD-1) and lenvatinib (multikinase inhibitor), highlighting sustained clinical benefit.

A 73-year-old man presented with cough, hemoptysis, and a large left lung mass initially misdiagnosed as primary lung cancer. Multidisciplinary re-evaluation, including immunohistochemistry (PAX8+, P504s+, also known as AMACR), confirmed metastatic type 2 PRCC. After 11 months of toripalimab (flat dose of 240 mg every 3 weeks) and lenvatinib (flat dose of 8 mg daily), serial imaging demonstrated partial response (PR) with regression of pulmonary metastases, lymphadenopathy, and obstructive pneumonia. No serious adverse events occurred.

This case underscores the potential efficacy and tolerability of toripalimab-lenvatinib combination therapy in metastatic type 2 PRCC. Further clinical trials are warranted to validate this approach.

## Linked entities

- **Proteins:** PAX8 (paired box 8), AMACR (alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase), AMACR (alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase)
- **Chemicals:** lenvatinib (PubChem CID 9823820)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** PDCD1 (programmed cell death 1) [NCBI Gene 5133] {aka ADMIO4, AIMTBS, CD279, PD-1, PD1, SLEB2}, AMACR (alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase) [NCBI Gene 23600] {aka AMACRD, CBAS4, P504S, RACE, RM}, PAX8 (paired box 8) [NCBI Gene 7849] {aka PAX-8}
- **Diseases:** hemoptysis (MESH:D006469), pneumonia (MESH:D011014), lymphadenopathy (MESH:D008206), primary (MESH:D010538), PRCC (MESH:D002292), metastases (MESH:D009362), lung mass (MESH:D008171), lung cancer (MESH:D008175), cough (MESH:D003371)
- **Chemicals:** lenvatinib (MESH:C531958), toripalimab (MESH:C000656314)

## Figures

3 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12631386/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12631386