How can Renal Cell Carcinoma be Treated?

How can Renal Cell Carcinoma be Treated?

Treatment for renal cell carcinoma is entirely dependent on the stage at diagnosis and aimed at curing the disease, if detected at the early stage. However, for those in stage IV of the disease, the treatment is often not effective.

The methods of choice employed in treating renal cell cancer are surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, hormonal therapy, or combinations of these.

The response to chemotherapy is usually lower than 15%; however, chemotherapy with interleukin-2 is known to be effective in some patients. Renal cell carcinoma is an immunogenic tumor and many immune modulators such as interferon (IFN), interleukin (IL)-2 (aldesleukin [Proleukin]), and bacillus Calmette-Gu�rin (BCG) vaccination have been tried in treating the disease. What is remarkable is that even some patients with metastatic disease respond well to immunotherapy.

For most patients with advanced RCC, the only option that would be left is palliative care.

Surgery is the treatment of choice if the disease is localized. It is also used to control disease progression in case of metastasis. Sometimes a nephrectomy has to be done-- Nephrectomy is the removal the entire kidney or a part of it�to control the disease.

New drugs used to treat RCC include sorafenib (Nexavar), sunitinib (Sutent), temsirolimus (Torisel) and bevacizumab (Avastin).

References:

1. Barjorin D. Tumors of the kidney, bladder, ureters, and renal pelvis. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 2003.
2. National Comprehensive Cancer Network. National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Kidney Cancer. 2012. Version 1.2012.