Biochemical and molecular markers in renal cell carcinoma: an update and future prospects

Cancer is a big problem in the developed world as well as in developing countries. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for approximately 3% of adult malignancies and 90-95% of neoplasms arising from the kidney. RCC is more common in men than in women (2:1), and it most often occurs in patients between the ages of 50-70 years. In all cancers the cancerous cells release particular kind of proteins (called tumour markers) and blood tests are used to detect the presence of these markers. These tumour markers nowadays are an area of interest for oncologists who search for a possible solution in the detection and treatment of RCC. Different kinds of biochemical and molecular markers such as ferritin, MN/CA9, apoptotic index, p53, IL-2, gamma-enolase, CD44, CD95, chromosome instability and loss of heterozygosity have been tested in RCC, but so far no marker fulfils one or the other criteria to be considered as an ideal marker for RCC. This review gives basic and updated information about the different kinds of biomarkers studied in RCC and about the role implementation of genomics and proteomics in RCC.