Kidney Cancer: Current Progress in Treatment

Kidney cancer accounts for approximately 2% of all cancers worldwide, with renal cell carcinoma being the most widespread form. Worldwide, the occurrence and mortality rates are rising by 2–3% per decade. Cigarette smoking, obesity, acquired cystic kidney disease and inherited vulnerability are identified risk issues for kidney cancer. Immunotherapy confers a small but significant overall survival benefit in metastatic renal cell carcinoma but only for the minority of patients, i.e. the 20% with good predictive characteristics. Current developments in the molecular biology of renal cell carcinoma have recognized multiple pathways related with the progress of this cancer. Several strategies have been explored targeting these trails, with major clinical benefits shown in early studies. New agents including the small molecule targeted inhibitors like sunitinib, sorafenib and temsirolimus, and the monoclonal antibody bevacizumab have shown anti-tumour activity in randomised clinical trials and have become the standard of care for most patients.