Systemic treatment of renal cell cancer: A comprehensive review

Abstract

Kidney cancer represents about 5% of all new cancer diagnoses. The most common form of kidney cancer arises from renal epithelium, named renal cell carcinoma (RCC). This entity comprises different histological and molecular subtypes. Unraveling the molecular biology and cytogenetic of RCC has enabled the development of several targeted agents that have improved treatment outcomes of these patients. This article reviews all the agents currently approved for the treatment of RCC, and discuss upcoming molecules. Mechanism of action, preclinical and clinical development and ongoing trials, are presented for each agent, providing a broad vision of the current state of targeted therapy in RCC and possible future developments.

Keywords: Angiogenesis; Immunotherapy; Monoclonal antibody; Renal cell cancer; Targeted therapy; Tyrosine-kinase inhibitor; mTOR inhibitor.