[Renal cell carcinoma and antiangiogenic therapies]

Until 2006, immunotherapy (interferon-alpha or interleukin 2) was the standard medical treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and its results were disappointing: despite a few cases of complete response with prolonged survival, median survival was one year. Better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of tumor angiogenesis, especially in clear cell carcinoma, has led to the development of multiple targeted therapies to inhibit key effectors: vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF receptor, and mTOR (target of rapamycin). Two inhibitors targeting several protein kinases, including the VEGF receptor, have increased progression-free survival in patients with metastatic RCC and are now commercially available: sunitinib (Sutent) as first-line treatment and sorafenib (Nexavar) as second-line treatment. These targeted therapies will certainly affect overall survival, but it is too early for any firm conclusions. Their side-effects, usually low or moderate, include asthenia, anorexia, diarrhea, hand-and-foot syndrome and hypertension. Optimal management is required to ensure prolonged exposure. Other drugs have been effective: bevacizumab (Avastin), a monoclonal antibody inhibiting VEGF, increases progression-free survival as second-line treatment, and temsirolimus (Torisel), an mTOR protein kinase inhibitor, increases overall survival in the population of patients with poor prognosis. These targeted drugs will serve as the basis for development of future therapeutic strategies.