Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025 Apr;6(4):573-583.
doi: 10.1038/s43018-025-00942-1. Epub 2025 Apr 16.

Biomarker-informed care for patients with renal cell carcinoma

Mackenzie B McKinnon  1 , Brian I Rini  1   2 , Scott M Haake  3   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Biomarker-informed care for patients with renal cell carcinoma

Mackenzie B McKinnon et al. Nat Cancer. 2025 Apr.

Abstract

Kidney cancer is a commonly diagnosed cancer in adults, and clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common histological subtype. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized care for patients with ccRCC, either as adjuvant therapy or combined with other agents in advanced disease. However, biomarkers to predict therapeutic benefits are lacking. Here, we explore biomarkers that predict therapeutic response in other tumor types and discuss the reasons for their ineffectiveness in ccRCC. We also review emerging predictive and prognostic biomarkers to prioritize in ccRCC, including gene expression signatures.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: M.B.M. has nothing to disclose. B.I.R. is a consultant for and receives research funding from Merck, Eisai, Genentech, BMS and Pfizer. S.M.H. is a consultant for Exelixis and Tempus.

References

    1. Huang, J. et al. A global trend analysis of kidney cancer incidence and mortality and their associations with smoking, alcohol consumption, and metabolic syndrome. Eur. Urol. Focus 8, 200–209 (2022). - PubMed - DOI
    1. Lindgren, D., Sjölund, J. & Axelson, H. Tracing renal cell carcinomas back to the nephron. Trends Cancer 4, 472–484 (2018). - PubMed - DOI
    1. Zisman, A. et al. Risk group assessment and clinical outcome algorithm to predict the natural history of patients with surgically resected renal cell carcinoma. J. Clin. Oncol. 20, 4559–4566 (2002). - PubMed - DOI
    1. Atkins, M. B. Clinical presentation, diagnosis, and staging of renal cell carcinoma. In UpToDate (ed. Richie, J. P.) (Wolters Kluwer, 2023).
    1. Kaelin, W. G. Jr. Von Hippel–Lindau disease: insights into oxygen sensing, protein degradation, and cancer. J. Clin. Invest. 132, e162480 (2022). - PubMed - PMC - DOI

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources