# Robert J. Motzer

Source: https://onco.cc/people/robert-motzer/  
OnCo record `robert-motzer` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The kidney cancer trialist behind sunitinib, CheckMate 214 and CLEAR, three shifts in first-line standard of care.

## Summary

Robert Motzer created the MSKCC prognostic risk model for metastatic renal cell carcinoma and then led the pivotal trials of each successive standard: sunitinib versus interferon (2007), nivolumab plus ipilimumab in CheckMate 214 (2018), and lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab in CLEAR (2021). He also led CheckMate 9ER (cabozantinib plus nivolumab). His trials define almost every first-line option in kidney cancer.

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Tags: rcc; trialist
- Role: Jack and Dorothy Byrne Chair in Clinical Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Specialisms: Renal cell carcinoma; Targeted therapy; Immunotherapy combinations; Prognostic models

## Sources

- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Motzer%20RJ%5BAuthor%5D%20renal%20cell

## Connected records

- cancers: [Renal cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/rcc/)
- technologies: [Immune checkpoint inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/), [Small-molecule kinase inhibitors](https://onco.cc/technologies/kinase-inhibitors/)
- targets: [CTLA-4](https://onco.cc/targets/ctla4/), [PD-1](https://onco.cc/targets/pd1/), [VEGF / VEGFR](https://onco.cc/targets/vegf/)
- drugs: [Ipilimumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/ipilimumab/), [Nivolumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/nivolumab/), [Pembrolizumab](https://onco.cc/drugs/pembrolizumab/)
- institutions: [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center](https://onco.cc/institutions/mskcc/)
- trials: [CheckMate 025](https://onco.cc/trials/checkmate-025/), [CheckMate 214](https://onco.cc/trials/checkmate-214/), [CheckMate 9ER](https://onco.cc/trials/checkmate-9er/), [CLEAR (KEYNOTE-581)](https://onco.cc/trials/clear/), [LITESPARK-011](https://onco.cc/trials/nct04586231/)
- key papers: [Belzutifan plus lenvatinib versus cabozantinib in patients with previously treated advanced renal cell carcinoma (LITESPARK-011): an open-label, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-litespark-011-motzer-lancet-2026/), [CLEAR: lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab versus sunitinib as first treatment for advanced kidney cancer](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-clear-nejm-2021/)

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