The combination of bevacizumab plus erlotinib is a new therapeutic option for RMC

A retrospective single-center study of 10 patients with renal medullary carcinoma showed that the combination of bevacizumab with erlotinib yielded objective responses in 2/10 (20%) and stable disease in 7/10 (70%) patients for a median progression-free survival of 3.5 months.

The regimen was well tolerated and showed activity even in patients whose disease had progressed on platinum-based regimens and combination of gemcitabine plus doxorubicin. Therefore the use of bevacizumab 10 mg/kg IV every 2 weeks plus erlotinib 150 mg PO daily should be considered as a salvage strategy for patients with renal medullary carcinoma that develop progressive disease following cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens, most commonly consisting of first-line platinum-based cytotoxic combinations followed by second- or third-line non-platinum chemotherapy agents.