{"entity":{"id":"robert-motzer","kind":"person","name":"Robert J. Motzer","aka":[],"tldr":"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.","asOf":"2026-09-10","links":[{"label":"PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Motzer%20RJ%5BAuthor%5D%20renal%20cell"}],"tags":["rcc","trialist"],"related":[],"cancers":["rcc"],"sections":[],"technologies":["checkpoint-inhibitor","kinase-inhibitors"],"targets":["pd1","ctla4","vegf"],"drugs":["nivolumab","ipilimumab","pembrolizumab"],"companies":[],"institutions":["mskcc"],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":["checkmate-214","clear","checkmate-9er"],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":["paper-clear-nejm-2021"],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"role":"Jack and Dorothy Byrne Chair in Clinical Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center","institutionId":"mskcc","specialisms":["Renal cell carcinoma","Targeted therapy","Immunotherapy combinations","Prognostic models"],"profiles":[{"label":"PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Motzer%20RJ%5BAuthor%5D%20renal%20cell"}],"papers":[{"title":"Nivolumab plus ipilimumab versus sunitinib in advanced renal-cell carcinoma (CheckMate 214)","journal":"NEJM","year":2018,"doi":"10.1056/NEJMoa1712126"},{"title":"Lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab or everolimus for advanced renal cell carcinoma (CLEAR)","journal":"NEJM","year":2021,"doi":"10.1056/NEJMoa2035716"},{"title":"Sunitinib versus interferon alfa in metastatic renal-cell carcinoma","journal":"NEJM","year":2007,"doi":"10.1056/NEJMoa065044"}],"orcid":"0000-0001-6925-2327"},"route":"/people/robert-motzer/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"rcc","kind":"cancer","name":"Renal cell carcinoma","route":"/cancers/rcc/"}],"technology":[{"id":"checkpoint-inhibitor","kind":"technology","name":"Immune checkpoint inhibitors","route":"/technologies/checkpoint-inhibitor/"},{"id":"kinase-inhibitors","kind":"technology","name":"Small-molecule kinase inhibitors","route":"/technologies/kinase-inhibitors/"}],"target":[{"id":"ctla4","kind":"target","name":"CTLA-4","route":"/targets/ctla4/"},{"id":"pd1","kind":"target","name":"PD-1","route":"/targets/pd1/"},{"id":"vegf","kind":"target","name":"VEGF / VEGFR","route":"/targets/vegf/"}],"drug":[{"id":"ipilimumab","kind":"drug","name":"Ipilimumab","route":"/drugs/ipilimumab/"},{"id":"nivolumab","kind":"drug","name":"Nivolumab","route":"/drugs/nivolumab/"},{"id":"pembrolizumab","kind":"drug","name":"Pembrolizumab","route":"/drugs/pembrolizumab/"}],"institution":[{"id":"mskcc","kind":"institution","name":"Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center","route":"/institutions/mskcc/"}],"trial":[{"id":"checkmate-025","kind":"trial","name":"CheckMate 025","route":"/trials/checkmate-025/"},{"id":"checkmate-214","kind":"trial","name":"CheckMate 214","route":"/trials/checkmate-214/"},{"id":"checkmate-9er","kind":"trial","name":"CheckMate 9ER","route":"/trials/checkmate-9er/"},{"id":"clear","kind":"trial","name":"CLEAR (KEYNOTE-581)","route":"/trials/clear/"},{"id":"nct04586231","kind":"trial","name":"LITESPARK-011","route":"/trials/nct04586231/"}],"paper":[{"id":"paper-litespark-011-motzer-lancet-2026","kind":"paper","name":"Belzutifan plus lenvatinib versus cabozantinib in patients with previously treated advanced renal cell carcinoma (LITESPARK-011): an open-label, randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial","route":"/key-papers/paper-litespark-011-motzer-lancet-2026/"},{"id":"paper-clear-nejm-2021","kind":"paper","name":"CLEAR: lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab versus sunitinib as first treatment for advanced kidney cancer","route":"/key-papers/paper-clear-nejm-2021/"}]}}