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Updated: Jul 5, 2026
12:22
The Use of Reverse Phase Protein Arrays (RPPA) to Explore Protein Expression Variation within Individual Renal Cell Cancers
Published on: January 22, 2013
Targeted therapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|April 22, 2008
Summary
Targeted agents show promise in treating advanced renal cell carcinoma, offering improved survival and progression-free survival in specific patient groups. Further research is needed to fully establish their role in this resistant cancer.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) exhibits resistance to conventional therapies, necessitating novel treatment strategies.
- Targeted agents offer a new approach by inhibiting key molecular pathways in cancer cell proliferation and tumor angiogenesis.
- Clear cell RCC, characterized by high vascularity, is particularly responsive to anti-angiogenic therapies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review studies evaluating targeted agents in advanced RCC.
- To determine the clinical benefits of targeted agents compared to the standard of care, focusing on overall survival.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of randomized controlled trials identified through comprehensive database searches (CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE) and hand searches.
- Studies included patients with advanced RCC reporting remission rates or overall survival.
- Progression-free survival (PFS) was also analyzed due to its common use as a primary outcome and crossover issues affecting overall survival data.
Main Results:
- Temsirolimus demonstrated improved overall survival in systemically untreated patients with adverse prognostic features (median survival 10.9 vs 7.3 months).
- Sunitinib and bevacizumab (in combination with interferon-alfa) improved progression-free survival and remission rates in specific patient subgroups with clear cell RCC.
- Sorafenib improved quality of life and progression-free survival in patients with advanced RCC who had prior cytokine therapy.
Conclusions:
- Targeted agents have shown clinically significant benefits over the previous standard of care for advanced RCC.
- Specific agents like temsirolimus, sunitinib, bevacizumab, and sorafenib offer improved outcomes in different patient populations.
- Further research is essential to fully elucidate the role and optimize the use of targeted agents in advanced RCC management.
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