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Updated: Jun 2, 2026
The Use of Reverse Phase Protein Arrays (RPPA) to Explore Protein Expression Variation within Individual Renal Cell Cancers
Published on: January 22, 2013
What can molecular pathology contribute to the management of renal cell carcinoma?
Grant D Stewart1, Fiach C O'Mahony, Thomas Powles
1Edinburgh Urological Cancer Group, Division of Pathology, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK. grant.stewart@ed.ac.uk
Abstract:
The incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is increasing and outcomes remain poor. One-third of patients with localized disease will relapse, and 5-year survival for patients with metastatic disease is less than 10%. No molecular test is currently available to identify which patients who have undergone 'curative' surgery will relapse, and which patients will respond to targeted therapy. Some well characterized biochemical pathways, such as those associated with von Hippel-Lindau disease, are aberrantly regulated in RCC and are associated with histological subtype, but the understanding of these pathways contributes little to the clinical management of patients with RCC. Gene expression and sequencing studies have increased our understanding of the genetic basis of the disease but have failed to establish any unified classification to improve molecular stratification or to predict which patients are likely to relapse or respond to targeted therapy. Instead, they have served to highlight that RCC is heterogeneous at histological, morphological, and molecular levels, and that novel approaches are required to resolve the complexity of RCC prognostication and prediction of treatment response.
Insights
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is increasing, with poor outcomes and no molecular tests to predict relapse or treatment response. Novel approaches are needed to understand RCC
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Genetics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) incidence is rising, leading to poor patient outcomes.
- Current survival rates for localized and metastatic RCC remain low.
- Existing molecular tests fail to predict relapse or targeted therapy response in RCC patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To address the need for improved prognostication and treatment response prediction in renal cell carcinoma.
- To explore novel approaches for understanding RCC complexity.
- To identify molecular markers for patient stratification.
Main Methods:
- Review of current understanding of RCC pathogenesis.
- Analysis of gene expression and sequencing studies in RCC.
- Evaluation of biochemical pathways implicated in RCC.
Main Results:
- RCC is characterized by significant heterogeneity at histological, morphological, and molecular levels.
- Current molecular studies have not yielded a unified classification for RCC.
- Aberrantly regulated biochemical pathways, like those in von Hippel-Lindau disease, offer limited clinical management insights.
Conclusions:
- Novel strategies are essential to overcome the complexity of RCC prognostication.
- Accurate prediction of relapse and treatment response in RCC requires new methodologies.
- Understanding RCC heterogeneity is key to improving patient outcomes.
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