New insights into the management of renal cell cancer

Nicolas Pécuchet1, Laure S Fournier, Stéphane Oudard

  • 1Department of Medical Oncology, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Paris, France.

Oncology
|October 19, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Kidney cancer treatment is evolving, with new targeted therapies emerging. Current choices rely on prognostic criteria, but future strategies will be biologically driven, balancing efficacy and cost.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Kidney cancer comprises diverse bio-histological subtypes, with clear-cell carcinoma being the most common.
  • Current treatment strategies for kidney cancer are not yet fully biologically driven due to immature biologic classifications.
  • First-line treatment selection relies on prognostic criteria, guiding the use of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and anti-mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) therapies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the evolving landscape of kidney cancer biology and targeted therapies.
  • To discuss the development of novel therapeutic strategies addressing resistance mechanisms.
  • To highlight the potential impact of new treatments on clinical practice and healthcare costs.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of recent advancements in kidney cancer research.
  • Analysis of emerging targeted agents and their mechanisms of action.
  • Discussion of clinical trial data for novel therapeutic combinations.

Main Results:

  • Resistance to targeted agents has spurred the development of next-generation inhibitors (e.g., selective VEGF receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors).
  • Co-inhibition strategies targeting pathways like fibroblast growth factor and c-Met are under investigation.
  • Dual mTOR/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors show promise in preclinical models and early clinical trials.

Conclusions:

  • The dynamic changes in kidney cancer biology and treatment offer new clinical opportunities.
  • Future treatments may involve combination therapies targeting multiple signaling pathways.
  • High costs of targeted therapies necessitate careful consideration and may lead to stringent health authority controls.